
Class Ji.2^^:M!^ 
Book 'Q 4-^ 

Gopght)^" 



COPYRrCHT DEPOSrn 



THE NARROW WAY 



B Y THE SAME A UTHOB 

A PRIVATE RETREAT FOR 
RELIGIOUS 

Cloth, 12mo, net, $1.50. 

Enriched with Reflections and Select Readings 
Taken from the Spiritual Writings of St. 
Alphonsus. 

MANUAL OF THEOLOGY 
FOR THE LAITY 

Paper, $0.25; 25 copies, $4.50. 
Cloth, $0.60; 25 copies, $9.00. 

A brief, clear, and systematic exposition of the 
reason and authority of religion. 

MISSION REMEMBRANCE 

OF THE 
REDEMPTORIST FATHERS 

Cloth, 32mo, $0.50 

A prayer-book, as well as a book of instruc- 
tion. Its chief end is to keep alive the remem- 
brance and fruits of the mission. 



THE NARROW WAY 



A BRIEF, CLEAR, SYSTEMATICAL EXPOSITION OF 

THE SPIRITUAL LIFE FOR THE LAITY, AND 

A PRACTICAL GUIDE-BOOK TO CHRISTIAN 

PERFECTION FOR ALL OF GOOD WILL 



BY 

Rev. peter GEIERMANN, C.SS.R. 

n 
Author of ^'Manual of Theology for the Laity y^ 

''Private Retreat for Religious y'' etc. 



INTRODUCTION BY 

Very Rev. THOMAS P. BROWN, C.SS.R. 

Superior of the St. Louis Province 



He will help the salvation of the righteous, and 
protect them that walk in simplicity {Prov. it, 7) 



New York, Cincinnati, Chicago 

BBNZIGBR brothers 



PRINTERS TO THE 
HOLY APOSTOLIC SEE 



publishers of 
benziger's magazine 



1914 



3/^^^" 



KpprvbntxctL 



fic43 



By virtue of the faculties granted to me by 
Most Rev. Patrick Murray, Superior General of 
the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, I 
hereby permit the publication of the work entitled 
"The Narrow Way," by Rev. P. Geiermann, 
C.SS.R., after having had the work examined by 
two Theologians of our Congregation, according to 
our Constitutions. 

Thos. p. Brown, C.SS.R., 

Sup. Provincial, 
St. Louis, Feast of the Assumption, B.V.M., 
August 15, 1913 



Rev. Remy Lafort, D.D., 

Censor Librorum. 



3mpnmntnr. 

* John Cardinal Farley, 

Archbishop of New York. 
New York, January 21, 1914. 

CJopyright, 1914, by Benziger Brothers. 



^r^ 



©CI,A376000 

MAY 181314 Kp/ 



The Vatican, Jan. 25, 1910. 
Dear Reverend Father: 

His Holiness, in bestowing His Apostolic Blessing 
upon yon and your labors, desires me to convey to 
you the expression of His appreciation of your zealous 
efforts for the salvation of souls and for the spread of 
the knowledge of the True Faith. 

Wishing you every blessing, I am, Dear Rev, Father, 
Yours faithfully in Christ, 

R. Card. Merry del Val. 
Rev. Peter Geiermann, C.SS.R. 



INTRODUCTION 

KKOWLEDGEi of the theory and practice of 
the spiritual life is essential to solid 
virtue. Without it the soul drifts on a sea of 
doubt and uncertainty, and wastes time, grace, 
and opportunity of merit and spiritual progress. 
With this knowledge an ordinary good will suf- 
fices to appreciate how sweet is the Saviour's 
yoke and how light His burden. Like the ladder 
which the patriarch Jacob saw reaching from 
earth to heaven the service of God becomes at- 
tractive in proportion to our knowledge and ap- 
plication of the teaching of holy faith. 

A favorable sign of Catholic life in our day 
is the desire for religious information among 
our people. Not only are the clergy and the 
religious alert and anxious to use every means to 
qualify for their labors and to promote their 
spiritual welfare, but there is a growing class 
among the laity that relishes the higher things. 
While " The Narrow Way " is specially in- 
tended as a Manual of the Spiritual Life for 
the Laity, it will equally serve as a handbook for 



viii lyTRODUCTIOX 

postulants, novices, and seminarians that will 
introduce them to the principles of the spiritual 
life and enable them to appreciate and derive 
profit from larger works. May Providence use 
this Manual to lead many souls on the way to 
intimate union with a loving and merciful God. 
Thos. p. Beowx, C.SS.E., Sup. Prov. 

St. Louis, Mo. 



PREFACE 

'' How narrow is tlie gate, and strait the way 
that leadeth to life: and few there are that find 
it'' {Matt vii. 14). 

^' The Narrow Way " is a manual of the spir- 
itual life for all of good will. It is intended 
to serve as a handbook for intelligent and de- 
vout Catholics in the world and as an introduc- 
tion to more comprehensive works on the spir- 
itual life for postulants and novices in religion. 
To both it will give that general direction which 
is so essential to a life of solid virtue and which 
many cannot always obtain on account of the 
large numbers that throng around the confes- 
sionals in our large parishes. 

As a brief, clear, systematic exposition of the 
spiritual life " The Narrow Way " presents the 
practical doctrine of ascetic and mystic the- 
ology in a popular form and according to a plan 
that makes the mysteries of grace and free will 
reasonable to the average mind. For the sake 
of clearness " The Narrow Way " is divided 
into two parts: the one treating of asceticism 
or the Interior Life, the other of mysticism or 



IX 



X PREFACE 

the Supernatural Life. For the same reason 
each part is subdivided into sections, chapters, 
and articles, and so combines brevity and 
clearness v^ith a systematic exposition of Cath- 
olic theory and practice. 

May '' The Narrow Way " help many to life 
eternal, and may those who find light and 
guidance in it recommend the author to Jesus 
and Mary in their prayers. 

OcoNOMOwoc, Wis. 
Aug. 15, 1913. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction 7 

Preface 9 

The Spiritual Life. il 

PART I. THE INTERIOR LIFE 

Section I. — The Foundation of the Interior 
Life 

I. — ^A Knowledge of GtOd's Claims on Man . . 17 

1. Man Owes God Reverence 17 

2. Man Owes God Gratitude 18 

3. Man Must Fear God 19 

4. Man Should Love God 20 

11. — A Knowledge of Human Nature .... 22 

1. The Microcosm 22 

2. Life 24 

3. Temperament 25 

4. Delusions 27 

5. The Predominant Passion 28 

6. The Responsibility of Human Acts ... 29 

7. The Morality of Human Acts 30 

8. Good Will 31 

9. The Good Intention 32 

10. The Universal Laws of Life . . . . . 33 

11. Virtue 34 

12. Character 35 

13. Moral Growth 36 

14. Happiness 37 

III. — Knowledge of Man's Enemies .... 39 

1. The Flesh 39 

2. The World 40 



xii CONTENTS 

PAGE 

3. The Devil 42 

4. Temptation 43 

5. The Proximate Occasion of Sin 44 

6. Bad Will 45 

7. Vice 46 

8. Remorse of Conscience 47 

IV. — Knowledge of Man's Existence .... 48 

1. Time 48 

2. Eternity 50 

Section II. — Dispositions for the Interior 

Life 

I. — Diffidence in Ourselves 53 

1. We Are Nothing of Ourselves 53 

2. We Can Do Nothing of Ourselves .... 54 

3. Our Nature is Corrupted by Sin .... 54 

4. Heaven Is Beyond Our Unaided Reach ... 55 

5. The Enemies of Our Salvation Are Powerful . 55 

II. — Confidence in God 56 

1. On Account of God's Goodness, Love, and 

Mercy 56 

2. On Account of God's Promises 57 

3. On Account of the Merits of Jesus Christ . . 57 

4. On Account of the Protection of Mary ... 58 

5. On Account of the Mission of the Catholic 

Church 59 

6. On Account of the Power of Prayer ... 69 

7. On Account of the Intercession of the Angels 

and Saints 60 

III. — Submission to God's Representatives . , 60 

1. Loyalty to Jesus Christ 60 

2. Loyalty to the Catholic Church 61 

3. Respect for Lawful Authority 62 

4. Obedience to Our Spiritual Director ... 63 

IV. — Determination to Attain Perfection . . 63 

1. The Christian Ideal 65 

2. A Horror for Sin 66 



Mil 



CONTENTS xiii 

PAGE 

3. A Spirit of Reflection , . 67 

4. A Spirit of Compunction ...... 6S 

5. Subjugation of the Flesh 69 

6. Subjugation of the Spirit 70 

7. Contempt for the World 70 

8. Contempt for Satan 71 

9. A Spirit of Prayer 72 

10. Sincerity 72 

11. Desire 73 

12. Resolution 74 

13. Generosity 75 

14. Fervor 76 

15. Docility 76 

V. — Striving After Perfection 77 

1. Promptitude 77 

2. Continuous Effort 77 

3. Gradual Progress 78 

4. Patience 79 

5. Decision in Temptation 80 

6. Avoidance of the Occasion of Sin . . .81 

7. Search for the Occasion of Doing Good . . 82 

8. Sadness and Cheerfulness 83 

9. Attention to Details 84 

10. Good Use of the Present Moment .... 84 

11. Frequent Renewal of Good Intention ... 85 

12. Fidelity 86 

Section III. — Self-Denial or Active 

Purgation 

I. — Self-Denial in General 89 

1. Object of Self-Denial— Purity of Heart ... 89 

2. Motive of Self-Denial— The Fear of the Lord . 89 

3. Order in Self-Denial 90 

4. Signs of Self-Denial 91 

5. Practical Counsels on Self-Denial .... 92 

II. — Self-Examination 92 

1. A General Examination of the Interior . . 93 

2. The Daily Examination of Conscience . . 94 

3. The Particular Examination 95 



xiv CONTENTS 

PAGE 

4. The Examination for a Good Confession . . 96 

6. Sinful Actions 97 

6. Bad Habits 98 

7. The Predominant Fault 99 

8. Human Imperfections 100 

9. Idiosyncrasies 101 

10. The Delusions of Wrong Principles . . 101 

11. The Delusions of Self -Love 102 

12. Ambition 103 

13. Self-will 105 

14. Sensuality 105 

15. Peculiarities of the Cross 107 

16. Man's Limitations 108 

III. — Self-Castigation or Penance . . .110 

1. First Cause for Penance — Mortal Sin . . .110 

2. Second Cause for Penance — Venial Sin . .111 

3. Third Cause for Penance — Tepidity . .112 

4. Fourth Cause for Penance — Participation in 

the Sins of Others 113 

5. Fifth Cause for Penance — The Sins of the 

World 113 

6. Sixth Cause for Penance — Imperfections . .114 

a. Imperfections Tending to Pride . . .115 

b. Imperfections Tending to Avarice . .115 

c. Imperfections Tending to Lust . . .116 

d. Imperfections Tending to Anger . . .117 

e. Imperfections Tending to Gluttony . .118 

f. Imperfections Tending to Envy . . .119 

g. Imperfections Tending to Sloth . . .119 

7. Castigation of Actual Sin — Sacramental Con- 

fession 120 

8. Castigation of the Guiltv Mind — Detestation 

of Sin . . . . \ 122 

9. Castigation of the Guilty Will — Sorrow for 

Sin 123 

10. Castigation of all the Guilty Faculties — Pur- 

pose of Amendment 124 

11. Castigation of Sinful Man — Satisfaction . . 125 

12. Castigation of the Repentant Sinner — Actual 

Amendment 126 

13. Medicinal Castigation — ^Mortification . . . 127 



CONTENTS XV 

PAGE 

14. Rigoro'us Castigation — Austerities .... 129 

15. Our Spiritual Guide— The Priest .... 130 

IV.— Subjugation of the Carnal Man . . . .131 

1. Spirit of Retirement 132 

2. Plain Dwelling 132 

3. Modest Dress 133 

4. Plain Fare 134 

5. Simplicity 134 

6. Cheerfulness 135 

7. Habit of Industry 135 

8. Patient Endurance 136 

9. Avoidance of Singularity 137 

10. Home Life 138 

11. Recrea.tion 139 

12. Care of Health 139 

13. Friends . 140 

14. Catholic Spirit . 142 

15. Intercourse with the World 143 

16. Christian Charity 144 

17. Patriotism 145 

V. — Subjugation of the External Senses . .146 

1. Custody of the Eyes 147 

2. Custody of the Ears 147 

3. Custody of the Sense of Smell 148 

4. Custody of the Taste 149 

5. Custody of the Touch 150 

6. Custody of the Tongue 150 

VI. — Subjugation of the Internal Senses . .151 

1. Controlling the Central Sense 151 

2. Purifying the Imagination . . . . . .152 

3. Restraining the Instinct 153 

4. Purifying the Memory 153 

VII. — Subjugation of the Sensitive Appetite or 

of the Passions 155 

1. Love 156 

2. Hatred 157 

3. Desire 157 



XVI CONTENTS 

PAGB 

4. Aversion 158i 

5. Joy or Delight 158 

6. Sadness 158 

7. Hope 160 

8. Despair 160 

9. Courage 161 

10. Fear 161 

11. Anger 162 

VIII. — Subjugation of the Will 164 

1. Detachment from Riches 164 

2. Detachment from Comforts 165 

3. Detachment from Pleasures 166 

4. Detachment from Relatives and Friends . .166 

5. Detachment from Honors 167 

6. Detachment from Self-Esteem 168 

7. Detachment from Self -Love 169 

8. Detachment from Self-Will 170 

IX. — Subjugation of the jVIind to Teuth . .171 

1. Removal of Ignorance 171 

2. Removal of Prejudice 172 

3. Removal of Error 172 

4. Cure of Spiritual Blindness 173 

5. Dismissal of False Principles 174 

6. Restoration of the Mind 175 

7. Curing Fickleness 176 

8. Remedying Curiosity 177 

9. Moderating Rashness 177 

10. Conquering Obstinacy 178 

X. — Subjugation of the Ceeature to the 

Creator — Use of the ]Means of Grace . 178 

1. Prayer 180 

a. Vocal Prayer 181 

b. Mental Prayer 182 

c. Mixed Prayer 184 

2. The Sacraments 185 

3. The Sacrifice of the Mass 186 

4. The Sacramentals 186 

5. Indulo^ences 187 



CONTENTS xvii 

PAGE 

6. Pious Practices 187 

7. Counsels on the Use of the Means of Grace . 188 

Section IV.— The Practice of Virtue or 
Active Illumination 

I. — The Practice of Virtue in General . . .190 

1. The Object in Practising Virtue — Spiritual 

Growth 190 

2. The Motive in Practising Virtue — Hope of Re- 

ward 191 

3. Order in the Practice of Virtue 192 

4. Signs of Progress in Virtue 193 

5. Counsels on the Practice of Virtue .... 193 

XL — The Theological Virtues 194 

1. Faith 195 

2. Hope 196 

3. Charity 197 

III. — The Cardinal Virtues 198 

1. Prudence 199 

2. Justice — Religion, Devotion 200 

3. Temperance 202 

4. Fortitude 203 

Section V. — Living in Union with God. — 

Active Union 

I. — ^Active Union with God in General . . , 206 

1. Object of Union with God — Happiness . . 208 

2. Motive of Union with God — Love .... 209 

3. Means of Union with God — Conformity to 

God's Will 210 

4. Signs of Union with God 210 

5. Counsels on Union with God 211 

II. — Heroic Union with God — The Beatitudes . 212 

1. The Beatitudes in General 212 

2. Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit for Theirs is 

the Kingdom of Heaven 213 



xviii CONTENTS 

PAGE 

3. Blessed are the Meek, for They Shall Possess 

the Land 214 

4. Blessed Are They That Mourn, for They Shall 

Be Comforted 215 

5. Blessed Are They That Hunger and Thirst 

After Justice, for They Shall Have Their Fill 216 

6. Blessed Are the Merciful; for They Shall Ob- 

tain Mercy 217 

7. Blessed Are the Clean of Heart; for They Shall 

See God 218 

8. Blessed Are the Peacemakers; for They Shall 

be Called the Children of God .... 219 

9. Blessed Are They That Suffer Persecution for 

Justice' Sake: for Theirs is the Kingdom of 
Heaven 220 

Section VI. — Development of the Interior 

Life in the Religious State 
I. — The Religious Life in General 224 

1. Tlie Religious Vows 225 

2. The Religious Rule 226 

3. Community Life 226 

11. — The Excellence of the Religious Life . .227 

1. The Religious Life is Supernatural . . . 228 

2. The Religious Life a Life of Labor .... 229 

3. The Religious Life a Life of Self-Denial . . 230 

4. The Religious Life a Life of Prayer . . . 230 

5. The Religious Life a Life of Virtue . . .231 

6. The Religious Life Facilitates Christian Per- 

fection 232 

7. The Religious Life a Life of Union with God . 234 



PART II. THE SUPERNATURAL LIFE 

Section I. — The Supernatural Order 

L—GoD 240 

1. The Nature and Attributes of God ... 240 

2. The Mind of God 242 



CONTENTS xix 

PAGE 

3. The Will of God 242 

4. The Virtues of God ....... 244 

II« — The External Works of God 245 

1. The Economy of God's Work 246 

2. The Creation of the World .249 

3. Government of Creatures in General . . .251 

4. Government of Irrational Creatures . . . 252 

5. God's Government of the Sinner 254 

6. God's Government of the Just 259 

III. — The Permanent Assistance God Gives 

Man 263 

1. The Desire of Happiness 264 

2. The Desire of Truth and Virtue .... 265 

3. Parental Influence 266 

4. Conscience 267 

5. Vocation . 268 

6. The Ministry of the Church ...... 270 

7. The Communion of Saints . . . , . .271 

8. Sanctifying Grace 272 

9. The Divine Adoption . 274 

10. The Sacraments 275 

11. The Infused Virtues 276 

12. The Gifts of the Holy Ghost 277 

IV. — The Transient Assistance God Gives Man . 279 

1. The Dispensations of Divine Providence . . 279 

2. Actual Grace 281 

Section II. — The Divine Influence in Self- 
Denial — Passive Purgation 



I. — The Grace of Sensible Devotion . 

1. Its Nature — Spiritual Sweetness 

2. Its Preparation — Sincere Reflection 

3. Its Occasion — Christian Resolution . 

4. Its Effect—Good WMU .... 

5. Its Danger — ^Delusions .... 



II. — ^The Purification of Sensitive Nature 
1. The Nature of this Purification . 



. 292 
. 292 
. 293 
. 295 

. 296 

. 297 



299 
299 



XX COSTEXTS 

PAGE 

2. Tlie Necessity of this Purification .... 300 

3. Die Effects of this Purification 301 

4. Signs of this Purification 302 

5. Counsels on the Purification of Sensitive Na- 

ture 303 

6. The Rebellion of Sensitive Xature .... 304 

7. The Purification of Sensitive Xature by Tem- 

poral Losses ". . . 306 

8. The Purification of Sensitive Xature by Temp- 

tations of Satxin . . 307 

9. Divine Chastisements 308 

III. — The Pubificatiox of Ixtellectual Xatube 309 

1. The Xature of this Purification 309 

2. The Necessity of this Purification . . . .311 

3. Tlie Efi'ects of this Purification 311 

4. Signs of this Purification 312 

5. Counsels on the Purification of Intellectual 

Xature 312 

6. Temptations from Xature During This Purifi- 

cation r . . . . 313 

7. Trials from the World During This Purifica- 

tion " 314 

8. Temptations from Satan During This Purifica- 

tion 315 

9. Extraordinary Trial from God During This 

Purification 316 

Section III. — The Divine Influence in the 

Pru^lCtice of Virtue — Passbt: Illumination 
I. — The Special Dispexsatioxs of PBo^TDE^-CE . 318 

1. The Opportunitv To Know. To Love, and To 

Ser\-e God . ' . .318 

2. The Opportunity for Man To Know and To 

Follow His Vocation 319 

3. The Opportunity to Practise Every Virtue . 320 

11. — The Allurements of Grace ..... 320 

1. The Fear of the Lord 320 

2. Tlie Desire of Reward 321 



CONTENTS xxi 

PAGE 

3. The Excellence of Virtue 322 

4. Gratitude to God 323 

5. The Incentive of Contemplation 324 

Section IV. — The Divine Influence Uniting 
THE Soul to God — Passive Union 

I. — The Special Dispensations of Providence . 325 

1. The Opportunity of Conformity of Mind . . 325 

2. The Opportunity of Conformity of Will . . 326 

3. The Opportunity of Conformity in Action . 327 

II. — The Allueements of Grace 329 

1. The Love of Desire 329 

2. The Love of Benevolence 329 

3. Infused Contemplation 330 

III. — Extraordinary Favors 331 

Alphabetical Index 335 



The Spiritual Life is the life of a child of 
God. " You are children of God by faith in 
Jesus Christ " (Gal. iii. 39). As we were born 
to the natural life of our parents, so we were 
bom to the spiritual life '' of water and the 
Holy Ghost/' And, as we had to pass through 
many stages from infancy to maturity, so must 
we ascend through various degrees from spirit- 
ual infancy before we can attain Christian per- 
fection. In both instances our growth is partly 
due to ourselves, and partly effected by God. 
By our proximate disposition or immediate ef- 
fort we place the favorahle condition for God to 
effect our growth in the physical order by the 
laws of nature, and in the spiritual order by the 
laws of grace. We observe a normal growth 
in a child that is judicious in its diet, exercise, 
and rest, and we are convinced at the same time 
that meat, drink, labor, and repose do not pro- 
duce physical growth but merely supply the 
necessary conditions for the vegetative faculties 
to perform their functions normally. We must 

11 



12 



TEE SPIRITUAL LIFE 



take the same view of development in the spirit- 
ual order. By judicious self-denial, prayer, and 
tlie practice of virtue, we place the condition 
necessary for God to develop in us a normal, 
spiritual gro^vth. 

The human element In the spiritual life is 
called The Interior Life, and the divine ele- 
ment, The Supernatural Life. 



The Interior Life is the Spiritual Life con- 
sidered from a human standpoint. It is the 
return of the Prodigal, the submission of rebel- 
lious man to God. It consists in subjecting 
corrupt nature to the dominion of reason en- 
lightened by faith, or in living in harmony and 
union with God. The self-conquest and con- 
formity to the divine will, necessary to attain 
the perfection of the interior life, must extend 
not only to man's external conduct, but even 
to his inmost thoughts and desires, " The Lord 
searcheth all hearts and understandeth all the 
thoughts of men'' (Prov. xxviii. 9). By 
this absolute surrender of self to God man 
places the proximate condition necessary for 
grace to become the efficient cause of his sanc- 
tification. 

Let us consider : 

I. The Foundation of the Interior Life. 

11. Dispositions for the Interior Life. 

III. Self-denial or Active Purgation. 

13 



14 TEE lyJERIOR LIFE 

IV. The Practice of Virtue or Active Illumi- 
nation. 
V. Active Union with God. 

VI. Development of the Interior Life in the 
Religious State. 



1 



PART I 
THE INTERIOR LIFE 



THE NARROW WAY 

THE INTERIOR LIFE 

SECTION L 

THE FOUNDATION OF THE INTERIOR 
LIFE. 

I. A KNOWLEDGE OP GOD'S CLAIMS ON 

MAN. 

1. Man Owes God Reverence. 

IF reverence is the esteem and honor due to 
excellence, God is deserving of the highest 
reverence. He is the only being that exists 
of Himself, and is sufficient unto Himself from 
eternity to eternity. God is infinitely perfect, 
present everywhere; He sees and sustains all 
things. Heaven is His throne and the earth is 
His footstool. He speaks, and the mountains 
melt like wax and the heavens are folded up 
like a scroll. His very name causes all to 
tremble, and every knee to bow in heaven, on 
earth, and in hell. 

He is a triune God. From all eternity the 

Father knows Himself so well that His knowl- 

17 



18 TEE FOUNDATIOy OF THE IXTERIOR LIFE 

edge assumes tlie personality of the Son. And 
the mutual love, that proceeds from the Father 
and the Son, completes the Blessed Trinity in 
the personality of the Holy Ghost. As all three 
persons are equally God, Father, Son, and Holy 
Ghost are equally excellent and worthy of our 
reverence. 

The infinite goodness of God prompted His 
Tvisdom to plan and His power to create all 
things for His honor and glory and the welfare 
of His creatures. God watches over His crea- 
tures with a paternal solicitude, which Jesus 
compared to the tender love of a mother for 
her child. 

2. Man Owes God Gratitude. 

Gratitude is the obligation of giving thanks 
to a benefactor. God is the great benefactor 
of mankind. He called us into existence when 
He was infinitely happy, and had no need of 
us. He made us to His own image and like- 
ness, though we can not thank Him adequately 
for the existence of a stone in the field or of 
a plant by the wayside. God has further put 
us under obligation by destining us for the joys 
of heaven, and by supplying us with super- 
abundant means of earning the "reward ex- 
ceeding great.'' Finally, when sin came into 



A KNOWLEDGE OF GOD'S CLAIMS ON MAN 19 

the world, God put mankind under still greater 
obligation by extending to us the benefits of 
His mercy to that extent that He actually con- 
demned His own Son to pay the penalty of our 
sins. Our divine Saviour earned our lasting 
gratitude by freely laying dov^m His life for 
our salvation, by instituting a divine Church 
and seven sacraments for our sake, and by send- 
ing the Holy Ghost to guide us on the sure way 
to heaven. 

In addition to these varied blessings to all 
mankind God put every one of us under addi- 
tional obligation to Him by giving us life, 
health, talents, and opportunities, by giving us 
the priceless treasure of the true faith, and 
by continually giving us evidence of His good- 
ness, love, and mercy. He is patient when we 
are wayward, prompt to help when we invoke 
His aid, generous in His grace, and paternal 
in His solicitude. If we appreciate His fa- 
vors and do His holy will, He extends the spe- 
cial protection of His providence to us, pre- 
destines us to glory, and conducts us to eternal 
happiness. 

3. Man Must Fear God. 

God is the supreme lord and master, the 
ruler of heaven and earth. He keeps all things 



20 TEE FOUNDATION OF THE INTERIOR LIFE 

in existence by that omnipotent power where- 
with He created them. He is present every- 
where by His immensity. He sees all things, 
even the most hidden thoughts of men. 

Up to the present God has given us all we 
are and have, while the future is entirely in 
His keeping. He may punish us any moment 
if we disregard His law and offend against His 
divine majesty. Xo evil escapes the Master 
of life and death. If He does not punish the 
sinner in this life, God is eternal and can af- 
ford to wait. Sooner or later He will summon 
every one before His judgment by death. He 
will then condemn the unrepentant sinner to 
eternal perdition, and, at the end of the world, 
overwhelm him with public confusion. 

Truly does St. Paul therefore say : '^ It is a 
fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living 
God" (Heh. x. 31). Hence the Saviour ex- 
horts us to '' fear Him that can destroy both 
soul and body in hell '' (Matt. x. 28). 

4. Man Should Love God, 

Love is attachment to an object on account 
of its goodness. God is the greatest Good, and 
as such worthy of man's best love. This Good 
is limited neither by person, time, nor space. 



A KNOWLEDGE OP GOD'S CLAIMS ON MAN 21 

He is self -existent, eteriial by nature, and in- 
finite in perfection. He is so excellent that no 
one outside of God can love Him adequately. 

This infinite Good is, besides, the author of 
every created good. If life, health, friends, 
and earthly possessions are v^orthy of man's 
love, how much more should we form an attach- 
ment to God as soon as we learn that He is the 
eternal, uncreated Good? 

God has also been very good to man by ex- 
tending to him the countless blessings of crea- 
tion, redemption, and sanctification. He has 
loved us individually with an everlasting love. 
He provides for us and watches over us with 
greater solicitude than the fondest mother ever 
manifested toward her child. Christ the Lord 
loved us to that extent that He sacrificed the 
last drop of His sacred blood for our sake. 
Wherefore St. John says: '' He loved us to the 
end " (John xiii, 1). In creating us God fash- 
ioned our hearts in such a way that we neces- 
sarily love what is good. Will we then be so 
foolish, so ungrateful, so disobedient as not to 
love Him, the infinite Good ? He commands us 
to love Him. ^^ My son,'' He says, ^' give Me 
thy heart" (Prov, xxiii. 26). '^ Thou shalt 
love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and 
with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind. 



22 THE FOUNDATION OF THE INTERIOR LIFE 

This is the greatest and first commandment" 
(Matt xxii. 37-38). 

II. KNOWLEDGE OP HUMAN NATUEE. 

1. The Microcosm. 

Man is the noblest creature in the visible 
world. He unites in himself the existence of 
the mineral, the life of the vegetable, and the 
sense of the animal kingdom, and participates 
in the spirit-world as well by having a soul that 
is made to the image and likeness of God. As a 
spirit the soul is naturally immortal. 

The faculties of the soul correspond to man's 
complex nature. They are (1) the nutritive, 
augmentative, and reproductive faculties of 
vegetative life; (2) the sensitive, appetitive, 
and locomotive faculties of animal life; (3) the 
intelligence, reason, and free-will of a spiritual 
being. 

Corresponding to the vegetative and sensitive 
faculties of the soul are certain members of the 
body called organs, by means of which these 
faculties operate. The sensitive faculties to- 
gether with their organs are called senses. Man 
has five external senses by which he communi- 
cates with the outside world. They are: sight, 
hearing, taste, smell, and touch. Man has also 



KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN NATURE 23 

four internal senses that serve as a medium be- 
tween the external senses and the intellectual 
faculties. They are : central sense, instinct, im- 
agination, and memory. The central sense im- 
presses the sensations of the external senses on 
the imagination and records them in the 
memory. The instinct apprehends what is fit 
and what unfit for the needs of animal life and 
arouses the appetitive faculties accordingly. 
The imagination forms images of natural im- 
pressions and stores them in the memory. The 
memory retains these images indefinitely. 

Besides the vegetative and sensitive faculties 
man also has the appetitive and locomotive 
faculties common to all members of the animal 
kingdom. The appetitive faculty reaches out 
to enjoy, or to seek an attainable good, and to 
repel, or to escape from a threatening evil. It 
is aroused by the instinct through the imagina- 
tion, or directly by the will, causes a corre- 
sponding disturbance in man's physical nature, 
and easily excites his intellectual faculties. A 
movement of the appetitive faculty is called a 
passion, feeling, or emotion. The passions are 
divided into concupiscible and irascible, accord- 
ing as their object is agreeable or repugnant in 
itself, or apprehended as subject to some condi- 
tion of difficulty or danger. There are six of 



24 TEE FOUNDATION OF THE INTERIOR LIFE 

the former and five of the latter. They are: 
love, hatred^ desire, aversion, joy, and sadness; 
hope, despair, courage, fear, and anger. Of 
these eleven the passions of fear, desire, and love 
exercise the greatest influence in our daily lives. 

The locomotive faculty is the power of mov- 
ing the limbs as well as the entire body from 
place to place. It is set in operation and di- 
rected by the appetitive faculty, or by the power 
of the will. 

By his spiritual powers man rises above the 
material world in which he lives. The intel- 
lect abstracts ideas from the impressions made 
on the imagination and recorded in the memory. 
Eeason perceives and judges what is true, 
good, and beautiful, and commands the will 
to act in accordance with its decision. The 
will consults the reason in regard to the pro- 
priety and manner of action, controls the other 
faculties, and directs them in accordance with 
the dictates of reason, w^henever it is not ham- 
pered by the passions. 

2. Life. 

Life is the activity by which a being moves 
itself. The soul is the principle and the fac- 
ulties and organs are the means of human ac- 
tivity. The word '' life '^ is often used to des- 



ii 



KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN NATURE 25 

ignate the nature, the faculty, or the vital ac- 
tion of a particular being. Thus we speak of 
the vegetative life of a plant, of the sentient 
life of an animal, of the rational life of man, 
of the intellectual life of an angel, and of the 
divine life of God. Life is also used to des- 
ignate man's earthly pilgrimage. In this sense 
it is a journey to eternity. " What is life ? '' 
asks St. James. " It is a vapor which ap- 
peareth for a little while, and afterwards shall 
vanish away'' (James iv. 15). 

As man is composed of body and soul, he 
has a physical and a spirit life. The former 
is temporal and changeable, the latter immor- 
tal and immutable. The body increases, de- 
creases, and dies, but the soul lives forever. 

Besides the natural life the soul of a Chris- 
tian receives a supernatural life in holy Bap- 
tism. During his earthly career man may in- 
crease, decrease, or destroy this life of grace, 
even as he can care for or take his physical 
life. 

3. TemperamenL 

Temperament is the disposition resulting 
from the combination of man's mental and 
physical constitution. It is influenced by age, 
sex, climate, diet, occupation, environment. 



26 THE FOUNDATION OF THE INTERIOR LIFE 

state of health, education, grace, and free 
will. 

It is said there are no tw^ creatures exactly 
alike in the visible world. This is certainly 
true of the temperaments or dispositions of in- 
dividuals. The same remark, for example, ad- 
dressed to several persons, may cause one to 
laugh, another to weep, a third to grow angry, 
and make no apparent impression on a fourth. 

Temperaments are usually divided into four 
general classes. They are the sanguine, the 
choleric, the melancholic, and the phlegmatic. 
There is no fixed boundary between them. 
They are rather like so many shades blending 
imperceptibly, though sometimes two or even 
more temperaments unite in the same individ- 
ual. Usually, however, the characteristics of 
one or the other temperament predominate. 

Temperaments have their good as well as 
their bad characteristics. 

A sanguine person is naturally amiable, gen- 
erous, sociable, tractable, and happy on the one 
hand; and frivolous, vain, flighty, distracted, 
roguish, wanton, and desirous of pleasure on 
the other. 

A choleric person is open, magnanimous, 
generous, sagacious, and noted for force of will ; 
but he is also inclined to be self-willed, proud, 



J 



KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN NATURE 27 

presumptuous, obstinate, critical, ambitious, re- 
bellious, hard-hearted, and revengeful. 

A melancholic person is earnest, patient, 
methodical, and resigned when in good humor; 
but inclined to be morose, jealous, envious, ir- 
resolute, retiring, and dejected when out of 
sorts. 

A phlegmatic person is naturally calm, pa- 
tient, agreeable, and circumspect; but dull, in- 
dolent, unsympathetic, and a lover of ease, com- 
fort, and good cheer. 

4. Delusions, 

A delusion is an erroneous judgment regard- 
ing the condition of affairs, the end to be at- 
tained, the motives to be followed, or the means 
to be employed in practical life. Faith teaches 
that the human mind has been darkened by orig- 
inal sin. Unless a person be very humble 
and circumspect, therefore, his perceptions will 
easily be blurred, his judgments erroneous, and 
the dictates of his reason reprehensible. 

In consequence of delusions individuals mis- 
take in themselves (1) the desire of virtue for 
virtue itself, (2) confuse passion with virtue, 
(3) and invariably overestimate their own abil- 
ity and productions while underrating the abil- 
ity and deeds of others. In consequence of 



2S TEE FOrSDATIOS OF TEE ISTERIOR LIFE 

this same delusion man often (1) neglects to 
give God His due^ (2) and even disregards the 
l^roximate occasion of sin, as though he were 
already confirmed in virtue. 

Ttvo causes combine to give permanence to 
delusions in the human mind. The first is 
mental pride, which is apt to dispense with 
salutary reflection on the tendency of human 
nature and on the operation of gTace, and, by 
mistaking imagination for divine inspiration, 
cause '' fools to rush in where angels fear to 
tread." The second cause of delusions is an 
unbridled self-love. This may blind a person 
to that extreme that he can not see '' the beam 
in his own eye, though he sees the mote in his 
neighbor's eye" {Matt, vii. 3). 

5. The Predominant Passion. 

As delusions obscure and pervert the opera- 
tions of the mind, so the passions hamper the 
will, and at times hold it captive. As a re- 
sult of original sin man's will is not only weak- 
ened, but his nature inclines inordinately to 
one of the eleven passions. This inclination is 
called his predominant passion. It is inborn 
in him and pei-meates his entire temperament. 
The predominant passion has so great an in- 
fluence on his daily life, when not directed 



KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN NATURE 29 

by a good will, that the saints called it man's 
greatest enemy. 

Love is the root of all the passions. It is 
the great motive power of life. Even fear and 
desire spring from it. Owing to his selfish 
nature some form of self-love is always the 
foundation of man's predominant passion. He 
should guard against it especially because the 
predominant passion invariably tends to one 
of the seven capital sins, and so may easily pave 
the way for vices that will hurry him to tem- 
poral excess and eternal ruin. 

6. The Responsibility of Human Acts. 

A person is responsible for his actions to the 
extent that he has control or dominion over 
them. To exercise this dominion two things are 
requisite: (1) that he be conscious of the na- 
ture and effects of his actions; (2) that he per- 
form them of his own free will. These condi- 
tions elevate an act above the mechanical and 
make it human, and as such deserving of re- 
ward or punishment. 

Man may be impeded and even prevented 
from exercising dominion over an action in 
five ways: (1) by a lack of knowledge, through 
ignorance, inadvertence, or misconception, of 
the nature and effects of an action; (2) by a 



30 TEE FOUNDATION OF THE INTERIOR LIFE 

prior excitement of his passions; (3) or by a 
nervousness that momentarily interferes with 
the exercise of his reason and free will; (4) by 
physical violence, brought to bear on him con- 
trary to his own will; (5) by fear^ induced 
either from within or from without, that para- 
lyzes his reason and will for the time being. 

There are also four causes that vitiate the 
physical integrity of an action but do not de- 
prive man of its dominion. They are: (1) 
negligence in the mind; (2) indolence in the 
will; (3) voluntary passion or a bad habit in 
the disposition; (4) laziness or impetuosity in 
the performance of an action. 

Y. The Morality of Human Acts. 

The morality of an action is its bearing on 
the principles of ethics. The nature and the 
circumstances of an action are the source of 
its morality. By its nature is meant the in- 
trinsic tendency of an action; by its circum- 
stances those qualities of person, time, place, 
thing, means, method, and especially end, or in- 
tention, that clothe the act in concrete form. 

In the concrete every human act is either 
morally good or bad. The essential morality 
of an act flows from its nature or object; its 
accidental morality from the circumstances. 



1 



KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN NATURE 31 

8. Good Will. 

Good will is the one great requisite to at- 
tain eternal life. Genuine good will is com- 
posed of sincerity of mind, desire of heart, and 
resolution of will. Sincerity is that honesty 
of mind which produces rectitude of intention 
and fidelity in action. It is diametrically op- 
posed to that duplicity of the Pharisees, which 
was so severely condemned by the Saviour. 

Desire is a longing of the heart for the good 
perceived by the mind. '' What wings are to 
a bird/' says St. Alphonsus, '^ desires are to a 
soul that longs for perfection. '^ This desire 
must be efficacious, however, for the saints tell 
us that '' hell is paved with vain desires." A 
desire is efficacious when the heart is anxious 
to make the sacrifices necessary to carry it 
into practice. Such a desire supplies the 
strength necessary for pursuit, and renders pain 
easier to be borne. 

A resolution is a fixed determination of the 
will to realize the desires of the heart. When 
prudently formed a resolution should pause 
at no sacrifice, and hesitate at no legitimate 
means necessary to attain its end. It should 
turn with decision from every temptation, pru- 
dently avoid the voluntary occasions of sin, and 



32 THE FOryDATIOy OF TEE IXTERIOR LIFE 

Strengthen itself against those unavoidable by 
keeping itself intimately united to God. If 
frequently renewed and strengt-hened by prayer 
and the sacraments, one resolution thus formed 
for life will weary not of doing good till it at- 
tains the reward exceeding great in heaven. 

9. The Good Intention, 

The intention is that act of the mind whereby 
man directs his actions to a certain definite end. 
Man may have various immediate, but only one 
tnie final end. As he came from God he should 
ultimately direct all his actions to God. He 
may direct his actions to God as his final end 
in the natural, or in the supernatural order. 
When man directs his actions to God as his 
supernatural end he makes them meritorious 
for heaven. It suffices for this to have the 
habitual intention to act as a Christian. 

The most perfect intention that man can 
have, however, is one that corresponds fully 
with the qualities of a good will. By living 
in accordance with it man directs his life to 
God in the most perfect manner. This inten- 
tion may be foiinulated as follows: 

'' All for the honor and glory of God and the 
sanctification of souls." 



KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN NATURE 33 

" All out of love for Jesus and Mary/' 
" All according to God's holy will." 

10. The Universal Laws of Life. 

There are two universal laws of life which 
man must observe if he wishes to strive suc- 
cessfully after any definite end. They are 
the laws of labor and sacrifice. If he wishes 
to attain the reward of heaven he must, besides, 
observe the law of prayer. 

Labor is the exerting of the powers of soul 
and body to attain a definite end. It is the 
first universal law of life. In the material 
world it is directed by the laws of nature. In 
man it should be directed by a determined will. 
So distinctly is the law of labor impressed on 
human nature that man will be discontented, 
and even deteriorate mentally, morally, and 
physically, when he strives to evade it. 

On the journey of life no one can entirely 
escape physical pain and mental anguish, the 
cause of all suffering. Sacrifice, or the patient 
endurance in suffering is necessitated (1) by 
the law of labor, (2) by human misery, (3) by 
the battle of life. It is the second universal 
law of life. If man rebels, and endeavors to 
throw off this cross, he multiplies his suffering 



34 THE FOUNDATION OF THE INTERIOR LIFE 

and increases his burden without growing in 
virtue or enjoying contentment. 

To persevere in the service of God amid the 
labors and sufferings of life requires extraor- 
dinary energy and powder of endurance. To 
persevere in opposition to the enemies of his 
salvation is impossible for man without God's 
actual help. Though God is infinite goodness 
and love, He will not grant this aid unless man 
submits himself to His influence by prayer. 
Prayer, therefore, is the third universal law of 
a Christian life. 

11. Virtue. 

Virtue is a habit of doing moral good. A nat- 
ural habit is acquired by repeated acts, but a 
supernatural virtue is infused by the grace of 
God. At the outset the will may be opposed by 
the defects of temperament, by the evil inclina- 
tions of passion, and even by sinful habits in 
the practice of virtue; but, by systematically 
waging war on these perverse inclinations in a 
Christian manner, man may gradually overcome 
their combined opposition and cultivate volun- 
tary good habits, or virtues. By striving thus 
man contributes his part to the development 
of the corresponding supernatural virtue, of 
which grace is always the efficient cause. 



I 



KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN NATURE 35 

A moral virtue is the golden mean between 
the vices of excess and defect. This mean is 
marked out by right reason, that is, by reason 
free from error, prejudice, and delusion, es- 
pecially when this reason is enlightened by 
faith. The virtues that unite us directly to 
God are called theological; those that govern 
our actions in the way of rectitude are called 
moral. There are three of the former and four 
of the latter. The theological virtues are: 
faith, hope and charity. The principal moral 
virtues are: prudence, justice, temperance, and 
fortitude. The latter are called cardinal vir- 
tues, because all other moral virtues are sub- 
ordinated to them. 

12. Character. 

Both virtues and vices grow, and ripen into 
character. Character is the moral disposition 
of a person. Virtue and vice therefore de- 
termine the character. We have seen the good 
and the evil tendencies inborn in every tempera- 
ment. We realize the moral liberty of the 
human will. If the will, therefore, submits as 
a voluntary slave to the evil tendencies of tem- 
perament, it develops a vicious character. But, 
if it does violence to the evil inclinations of na- 
ture and habitually strives to act according to 



36 TEE FOUNDATION OF THE INTERIOR LIFE 

the dictates of reason enlightened by faith, it 
gradually develops a Christian character. 

Five means are especially conducive to the 
formation of a Christian character: (1) to have 
the good will to avoid evil and to do good; (2) 
to reduce this determination to practice as cir- 
cumstances require; (3) to trust in God and 
mistrust ourselves; (4) to be generous with 
God; (5) to pray earnestly for light and 
strength to mend natural and acquired defects. 

An ideal Christian character results from 
the blending of the virtues of integrity, hon- 
esty, moral courage, moderation, and charity. 
Integrity regulates man's actions in accordance 
with reason enlightened by faith. Honesty 
makes him faithful to truth and justice. The 
moral courage of a Christian must be guided 
in all circumstances by prudence, and strength- 
ened by divine grace. Moderation enables man 
to act in due season; while charity, the jewel of 
a Christian character, is dead to selfish mo- 
tives and ever seeks the neighbor's spiritual and 
temporal welfare. 

13. Moral Growth, 

Moral growth consists in the development of 
the threefold moral good, of nature, of grace, 
and of merit. Man is born into this world 



KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN NATURE 37 

with some natural goodness. He is born to the 
supernatural life and clothed with grace in 
holy Baptism. By persevering good will and 
fidelity to grace, he eradicates the defects of 
temperament and passion, and Christianizes 
the natural good that is in him. By prayer 
and fidelity to his good intention he continually 
enlarges his capacity for grace — which God 
ever gives to all of good will — and grows in 
merit and the practice of virtue. 

This growth in goodness should progress 
with the lapse of time, if the good will be last- 
ing. In fact, growth in virtue is ever the in- 
fallible test of a good will. " By their fruits," 
said the Saviour, " you shall know them." 
Hence, as life is necessarily a journey ever on- 
ward, so man's moral development should cor- 
respond to his temporal progress. 

As life is activity, man can not come to a de- 
liberate moral standstill. If he does not pro- 
gress, he must recede. If he does not ascend, 
he will descend. When our Saviour, there- 
fore, exhorted us to be perfect. He emphasized 
a law that was already written in our very 
nature. 

14. Happiness. 
Happiness consists in enjoying the true, the 



38 TEE FOUXDATIOy OF THE INTERIOR LIFE 

good, and the beautiful under the most favor- 
able circumstances. As the truth, the good- 
ness, and the beauty of virtue are most excel- 
lent, virtue becomes both the object and the 
measure of man's happiness. In this life three 
factors contribute to human happiness: (1) the 
subordination of man's lower nature to reason 
enlightened by faith; (2) the possession of 
physical health and of the ordinary comforts 
of life; (3) the favorable surroundings of 
friendship), especially of the friendship of God. 

The circumstances of earth and time are not 
the most favorable for human happiness. God 
has, therefore, implanted in the human heart a 
longing for an endless possession of an infinite 
good which is the infinite treasure of heaven. 
Earth and time are given us to acquire a ca- 
pacity for this enjoyment. In heaven the de- 
gree of our happiness will be proportionate to 
the degree of moral growth or the Christia 
perfection we attain in this life. 

The secret, then, of trae happiness is (1) to 
rise above our natural selves, (2) to be indif- 
ferent to all earthly and temporal things, (3) 
and to learn to love God with all our mind 
and heart and strength, because He is the 
eternal Truth, the infinite Good, the uncreated 
Beauty. 



i 



KNOWLEDGE OF MAN'S ENEMIES 39 

III. KNOWLEDGE OF MAWS ENEMIES. 

1. The Flesh. 

The flesh is man's corrupt nature. As God 
created him man was sincere and faithful in 
mind, generous, constant, and fervent of will, 
and so devout of heart that even his sensual na- 
ture was spiritualized by it. In consequence of 
original sin, however, man now inclines to im- 
prudence, ambition, and infidelity of mind, to 
inconstancy and sloth of will, and to selfishness 
of heart to so alarming a degree that his en- 
tire lower nature rebels against the dictates of 
his reason and the dominion of his will. 

In consequence of this corruption of human 
nature, man inclines to make his life on earth 
a time of carnal indulgence and mental dissipa- 
tion, instead of regarding it as a period of pro- 
bation that should be employed and sancti- 
fied by labor, sacrifice, and daily prayer. In 
proportion as he adopts this view he loses sight 
of the Christian ideal, and becomes a human 
animal that is more influenced by the allure- 
ments of the world than by the fear and the 
love of God. As such he is the slave of human 
respect, exposes himself heedlessly to the oc- 
casions of sin, and becomes the slave of his 



40 TEE FOUNDATION OP THE INTERIOR LIFE 

sensual desires. Or, if he is naturally proud, 
his self-love impels him to gratify his de- 
sires in striving after the honors, riches, 
and applause of the world. The labor and 
suffering that he will then cheerfully en- 
dure will be proportionate to the extent and 
permanence of his ambition. He may even 
say with Lucifer of old, '' I will ascend above 
the clouds, I will be like the Most High '' (Osee 
xiv. 13). 

From this we see that the flesh is man's 
greatest enemy, (1) because it weighs him down 
to earth; (2) because it is a constant part of 
himself from the cradle to the grave; (3) be- 
cause the world and the devil use it to lure 
his soul to perdition. 

2. The World. 

The world is that part of mankind which re- 
bels against God and follows the inclinations 
of the flesh. The Saviour said the world had 
nothing in common with Him. According to 
the teaching of Jesus Christ (1) God is all and 
man nothing; (2) eternity lasting, time 
fleeting; (3) heaven is incomparable, earth a 
wilderness ; (4) life is a trial, heaven the re- 
ward, and hell the punishment. 

According to the false theory of the world, 



KNOWLEDGE OF MAN'S ENEMIES 41 

(1) man is everything and has freed himself 
from God's dominion; (2) time is eternal and 
eternity a fable; (3) the honors, riches, and 
pleasures of life alone are worthy of man's 
ambition; (4) man's heaven or hell is on earth; 

(5) life, alas, is too short and ends in gloom; 

(6) we can have no knowledge of a next world. 
If there is a heaven God is so good that He 
will welcome all to it. 

Christ teaches that we must give honor and 
glory to God; but the world has arrogated all 
honor and glory to itself. Christ points out 
man's debt of gratitude to God; the world flat- 
ters him by saying that he must thank himself 
for what he is and has. Christ warns man to 
fear Him, who can cast both body and soul into 
hell ; the world warns him to fear the criticism 
and enmity of men. Christ declared that the 
first and greatest commandment is to love God 
above all things, and the next to love our neigh- 
bor as ourselves. The world says man's first 
duty is to get all the pleasure he can out of 
life, and the second never to be caught in a dis- 
honorable deed. 

Thus the world enslaves the thoughtless and 
simple by its false principles, selfish motives, 
and deceitful rules of conduct, and ever allures 
the children of God to forsake the path of vir- 



42 THE FOUyDATIOy OF THE lyTERIOR LIFE 

tue, and enter on the broad road that leads to 
destruction. 

3. The Devil. 

All evil spirits constitute the third enemy of 
man's salvation. Moved by hatred and envy 
they do all in their power to bring man to per- 
dition. Xot content with using the influence 
of the world to turn him from the path of vir- 
tue, they exert their influence on him personally 
to attain their end. Though they can not in- 
fluence man's mind and heart directly, they can 
inflict great haiTii on them through his senses 
and his passions. 

The devil may act on man's external senses, 
(1) by an illusory sensation and make a cor- 
responding impression on the imagination and 
memory; (2) by a corporeal apparition, as he 
appeared to the Saviour in the desert. He may 
act directly on man's internal senses (1) by in- 
citing the instinct to carnal desires; (2) by ef- 
facing virtuous impressions from the imagina- 
tion and memory; (3) and impressing vicious 
images in their stead ; (-i) by fixing such vicious 
impressions deeply upon the internal senses. In 
this way the devil distracts the mind of a child 
of God, harasses his will, and inclines his heart 
to sin, counteracts the past effects of grace and 



KNOWLEDGE OF MAN'S ENEMIES 43 

virtue, blinds man to the blessings of the pres- 
ent, and tempts bim to sin. 

Ordinarily the devil is too shrewd to tempt 
man directly to embrace error or to act mali- 
ciously. In fact he accomplishes his end more 
securely by using the evil impressions of the 
imagination and memory and the bad example 
and friendship of the world to instil perverse 
principles in the human mind and selfish mo- 
tives in the human heart, and thereby puts man 
at variance with God. In this way the devil 
does not shock man, but easily leads him to hold, 
that, as his influence can not be easily detected, 
it has been much overrated, especially in mod- 
ern times. 

4. Temptation. 

A temptation is an impulse given to the will 
by the flesh, the world, or the devil to commit 
sin. The flesh tempts man in three ways: 
(1) by the concupiscence of the eyes to seek the 
riches, pleasures, and comforts of life; (2) by 
the concupiscence of the flesh to indulge in 
sensual gratifications; (3) by the pride of life 
to seek worldly honor, fame, and influence. 
The world tempts man in two ways: (1) by in- 
spiring him with slavish fear or human re- 
spect; (2) by pandering to his passions. The 



44 TEE FOUNDATIOX OF THE INTERIOR LIFE 

devil usually tempts man (1) bj intensifying 
the allurements of the flesh and the world; (2) 
i>y inciting his carnal appetites to evil. 

God permits man to be tempted (1) to test 
his good will; (2) to gi'ound him in humility; 
(3) to stimulate his fervor; (4) to detach him 
from earthly things and center his affections on 
spiritual things ; (5) to give his virtue a healthy 
growth; (6) to give him an opportunity of 
merit and reward; (7) to teach him to advance 
in the spiritual life. 

5. The Proximate Occasion of Sin, 

The proximate occasion of sin is the op- 
portunity of committing that sin to which one 
is strongly tempted. Three things combine 
to make an occasion of sin proximate: (1) in- 
clination, (2) temptation, (3) an opportunity. 
As himian nature inclines universally to im- 
purity, but not to other sins, the occasion of 
impurity is a universal danger, while the oc- 
casions of other sins may be dangerous for one 
person and not for another. 

The temptation (1) is easily aroused and 
greatly intensified when it follows the inclina- 
tion of a bad habit; (2) it is most severe when 
it affects man's predominant passion, or the de- 
fects of his temperament and character; (3) 



KNOWLEDGE OF MAN'8 ENEMIE8 45 

in both, these instances it is apt to meet with 
less prompt and less decisive resistance from 
the will. 

By wilfully exposing himself to the proximate 
occasion of sin, or by remaining in it unneces- 
sarily when it presents itself, man (1) with- 
draws himself from the influence of grace; (2) 
makes himself unworthy of the special protec- 
tion of divine Providence; (3) and incurs the 
guilt of the sin by heedlessly exposing himself 
to it. Hence the Holy Ghost says, " He that 
loveth the danger shall perish in it '^ (Prov. vi. 
27). 

6. Bad Will 

As good will is indispensable for salvation, 
so bad will is sure to lead to reprobation. Bad 
will arises from insincerity of mind, fickle- 
ness of heart, and indecision of the will regard- 
ing the work of salvation. 

Insincerity aims at human ends and is a 
slave of human respect. It serves God in pros- 
perity, but fails in the day of adversity. Fick- 
leness of heart prompts man to act from the 
impulse of passion rather than from principle. 
It is willing to say, " Lord ! Lord ! '' but not to 
labor and suiffer to break the fetters of sin, and 
so never really desires to lay up treasures in 



46 THE FOUNDATION OF THE INTERIOR LIFE 

heaven. Indecision of will disqualifies man 
for the resolute, persevering endeavor of a true 
child of God. It makes man a slave of circum- 
stance, and permits him to drift into sin and 
vice without being seriously tempted by the 
enemies of his soul. 

7. Vice. 

A vice is a habit of sin. It results from a 
misuse of man's free wdll. It will grow out 
of his evil inclinations if he does not oppose it 
resolutely by acquiring the opposite virtue. 

As virtue is the golden mean, vice is ordi- 
narily found at either extreme of every virtue. 
There are seven vices, however, which are the 
source of many others. They are pride, avar- 
ice, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth, and 
are usually called capital sins. 

The majority of mankind are actuated more 
by instinct and passion in daily life than by 
reason. They find it diflScult to restrain their 
animal propensities and easily become the slave 
of avarice, lust, gluttony, intemperance, and 
sloth. Those on the other hand who try to 
govern their daily lives according to the dictates 
of reason find it more difficult to regulate their 
ambition. They easily permit their inordinate 
self-love to exaggerate their excellence and puff 



KNOWLEDGE OF MAN'S ENEMIES 47 

them up with pride. In consequence they 
easily become vain and inordinately desirous 
of the honors of life. Christians can best mas- 
ter their ambition by converting it into zeal for 
the glory of God and the welfare of souls. They 
can easily do this, after they are thoroughly 
converted themselves, by generously promoting 
the works of zeal and mercy that are established 
in their community. 

8. Remorse of Conscience, 

Eemorse of conscience is that sadness of 
heart w^hich all suffer who act contrary to the 
dictates of their conscience. It is a self-re- 
proach and condemnation for having done 
wrong. When man seeks his happiness in the 
honors, riches, or pleasures of life, his con- 
science becomes his first accuser. In propor- 
tion to the magnitude and number of his sins 
will his conscience torment him by day and by 
night, reminding him of his offense and of the 
punishment it deserves. 

During life man may smother the voice of 
conscience by plunging still deeper into vice 
and dissipation. At the hour of death, how- 
ever, his remorse will be intensified by con- 
templating the emptiness of his life and the 
terrors of the approaching judgment. 



48 THE FOUNDATION OF THE INTERIOR LIFE 

This remorse of conscience will be the great- 
est torment of the reprobate in hell. The 
Saviour calls it '' their worm that dieth not " 
(Mark ix. 43). Like a worm gnawing at their 
heart, it will continually remind them (1) that 
it was so easy for them to save their souls ; (2) 
that they lost the '' reward exceeding great " 
through their own fault; (3) that they did this 
for the vanities of this fleeting life. Thus their 
outraged consciences will obtain justice by tor- 
menting them for ever and ever. 

IV. KNOWLEDGE OP MAWS 
EXISTENCE. 

1. Time. 

Time is the measure of duration. Time 
began when " In the beginning God created 
heaven and earth/' and it will terminate with 
the renovation of the world on the Last Day. 
In regard to man's existence time may be con- 
sidered in three ways: (1) in the strict sense, 
as the measure of man's earthly pilgrimage; 

(2) in a wide sense, as the span of human life; 

(3) and as man's probation period for eternity. 
As a measure of duration time is a momen- 
tary quality of life that is unceasing in its 
progress, passes quickly, and never returns. 




KNOWLEDGE OF MAN'S EXISTENCE 49 



Strictly speaking only the present moment is 
time. It connects the eternity of the past with 
the eternity to come. The activity of the pres- 
ent ceases as soon as it is recorded in the his- 
tory of the past. The mistakes of the past 
may be remedied in the present, but vain 
schemes about the future are a double loss, be- 
cause they squander the present and build on 
an uncertain future. Whether man seizes the 
present opportunity, or permits it to glide idly 
by, the stream of time moves on unceasingly. 
As the present moment alone is his, it would 
be the height of folly to indulge in useless re- 
grets about the past or entertain visionary plans 
about the future. 

As the span of human life, time is like a 
rainbow with one end resting in the cradle of 
the obscure past, and the other projecting into 
the more uncertain grave of the future. Man's 
span of life is like a rainbow (1) because the 
duration of both is brief and uncertain; (2) 
because both develop their luster in the pres- 
ent; (3) because both may be obscured and 
destroyed by any trivial cause. 

The priceless value of the present moment 
is evident when we consider time in relation 
to man's final destiny. One moment sanctified 
by the tears of repentant love will unlock the 



50 TEE FOUNDATION OF THE INTERIOR LIFE 

gates of heaven to the greatest sinner. Every 
moment spent in God's service mil be a pre- 
cious jewel in man's diadem of glory. But 
even a single moment spent in sin may rob the 
longest life of its treasures of grace and merit. 
This is indeed food for serious thought ! and 
yet the most serious thought on time is this: 
^^ the moment most precious because decisive, 
and most terrible because uncertain, is the mo- 
ment that ushers the soul before the judgment 
seat of God.'' 

2. Eternity. 

Eternity is the total and perfect possession 
of an interminable life. As time is the meas- 
ure of change, so eternity is the measure of 
permanency. Though this permanency be- 
longs primarily to God, it applies also to the 
immortality of angels and men. Eternity may 
be considered: (1) in itself, (2) as a peculiar- 
ity of the happiness of heaven, (3) and as a 
quality of the pains of hell. 

Eternity is called '' the possession of inter- 
minable life " to emphasize its inalienable im- 
mutability and permanence of activity. It is 
called " total possession " because it combines 
variety and intensity of activity in the per- 
manence of its action. It is finally called " per- 



KNOWLEDGE OF MAN'S EXISTENCE 51 

feet possession '' because this varied and in- 
tense activity is secure and complete. In this 
life man may concentrate all his energy on the 
exercise of one faculty, and that only for a 
time. In the next life, however, he will per- 
manently exercise every faculty in the highest 
degree for endless ages. 

In heaven ^' eternal rest '' emphasizes the se- 
curity of happiness in this permanence of life. 
There the human mind will see God face to 
face, recognizing Him as the one necessary 
Being, the infinite Truth, the only real Good, 
and the perfect Beauty. In God man will 
contemplate the wonder and harmony of His 
works, and the love, mercy, and justice of His 
dealings with His creatures. At the same time 
the human heart will overflow in an ecstasy 
of delight in the possession of the infinite Good 
and Beauty, while every other faculty will en- 
joy the pleasure and security of this intermi- 
nable life. The pleasures of the elect will be 
further enhanced by the friendship of all the 
children of God in the mansions prepared for 
them from the beginning of the world. 

In hell, however, " eternal misery '' is 
stamped on the interminable life of the repro- 
bate. There the mind will brood over the 
vast misfortune of losing God and heaven for- 



52 THE FOUNDATION OF THE INTERIOR LIFE 

ever. The heart will there drain the cup of 
this misfortune and acknowledge this loss to 
be the final consequence of its own fault. Like 
Dives, the reprobate see the happiness of the 
blessed, and are consumed with remorse and 
despair because it will ever be beyond their 
reach. Here the soul that refused to serve 
God on earth becomes the slave of the devil; 
here the soul that abused the liberty of a child 
of God pines in the dungeon of hell; here the 
soul that was the Avilling slave of the flesh is 
permeated by " the fire that dieth not ^' (Mark 
ix. 42). 

As the blessed enjoy the variety and inten- 
sity of the happiness of heaven according to 
their merit, so the reprobate will endure the 
variety and intensity of the pains of hell ac- 
cording to the measure of their sin. Both are 
immutable and permanent in the total and per- 
fect possession of their interminable life. 



SEOTIOKII. 

DISPOSITIONS FOR THE INTERIOR 
LIFE. 

IN THE Parable of the Sower Jesus tells us 
that the seed of God's word yields a return 
proportionate to the quality of the soil, some a 
hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, and some only 
thirty-fold. As the quality of the soil is de- 
termined by man's dispositions in the service 
of God, it rests with him whether his heart 
will be soil by the wayside, stony soil, soil over- 
grown with thorns, or good soil of an inferior, 
of a medium, or of a superior grade. There are 
especially four qualities that dispose us to 
bring forth fruit a hundred-fold. They are: 
Diffidence in Ourselves, Confidence in God, 
Submission to God's Eepresentatives, and De- 
termination to attain Perfection. 

I. DIFFIDENCE m OUESELVES. 
1. We Are Nothing of Ourselves, 

We are not only dependent on almighty God, 

but whatever we are in body and soul, in mind 

53 



54 DISPOSITIONS FOR THE INTERIOR LIFE 

and heart — with the exception of sin — is a gift 
of God. Even virtue and merit is the effect 
of His grace. Hence we must say with St. 
Paul, " By the grace of God, I am what I am " 
(1 Cor. XV. 10). 

2. We Can Do Nothing of Ourselves, 

The same power which created us keeps us 
in existence. The same God, who implanted 
a universal desire for happiness in mankind, 
gives every individual the free vnll to choose 
the particular means to attain this happiness. 
But, if in the natural order man can not act 
without God's assistance, how much less can he 
acquire the treasures of grace and merit in- 
dependently of God? No wonder the Saviour 
said : " I am the vine ; you are the branches : 
he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same 
beareth much fruit : for without Me you can do 
nothing" (John xv. 5). 

3. Our Nature is Corrupted hy Sin. 

The helplessness of human nature is intensi- 
fied by the consequences of sin. In the parable 
of the man who went down from Jerusalem to 
Jericho and fell among the robbers the Saviour 
gives us a picture of human nature corrupted 
by original sin. This sin of Adam robbed man-d 



DIFFIDENCE IN OURSELVES 55 

kind of original justice and holiness, darkened 
the mind, weakened the will, and inclined hu- 
man nature to evil. " By one man sin entered 
into the world/' says St. Paul, '' and by sin 
death; and so death passed upon all men, in 
whom all have sinned '^ (Bom. v. 12). 

In addition to this corruption of human na- 
ture we individually suffer the consequence of 
our personal sins and bad habits. As these are 
truly the fetters of hell, we may all lament 
with King David ; '' I know my iniquity, and 
my sin is always before me " (Ps. 1. 5). 

4. Heaven Is Beyond Our Unaided Beach. 

Heaven is so completely beyond our unaided 
reach that we could not even imagine the super- 
natural order without a direct revelation from 
God. Much less could we, relying on our un- 
aided strength, hope to attain the perfection 
and the reward of children of God. Our only 
hope of heaven is in Him who said to Abra- 
ham of old : " Fear not, I am thy protector, 
and thy reward exceeding great '' (Gen. xv. 1). 

5. The Enemies of Our Salvation Are Powerful. 

The flesh, the world, and the devil conspire 
against our salvation. " The flesh lusteth 
against the spirit'' (Gal v. 17). "The 



56 DISPOSITIONS FOR TEE INTERIOR LIFE 

friendship of this world is the enemy of God '' 
(James iv. 4). '' Yonr adversary, the devil, as 
a roaring lion goeth about seeking whom he 
may devour'' (1 Peter v. 8). Our only hope 
of victory is in God. Only when we watch and 
pray that we enter not into temptation may we 
confidently say with St. Paul : " I can do all 
things in Him who strengtheneth me " (Phil. 
iv. 13). 

II. CONFIDENCE m GOD. 

1. On Account of God's Goodness, Love, and 
Mercy. 

How marvelous are the evidences of God's 
goodness, love, and mercy? When He had no 
need of his services, God made man to His 
own image and likeness, destined him for the 
Beatific Vision, and endowed him with super- 
abundant means of working out his exalted 
destiny. When sin closed heaven to man and 
made him a slave of Satan, God was so lavish 
in His mercy that He did not hesitate to sacri- 
fice His only begotten Son for man's redemp- 
tion. And He solemnly assures us that He 
loves every one of us with an everlasting love |J 
and watches over us with a greater solicitude '' 
than the fondest mother bestows upon her in- 
fant child. 



1 



CONFIDENCE IN GOD 57 

2. On Account of God's Promises, 

So urgent are God's invitations to place our 
trust in Him, and so solemn His promises to 
help us, that no one can reasonably refuse Him 
his confidence. A few quotations will suffice. 
'' Behold/' He says, ^' I stand at the gate and 
knock'' (Apoc. iii. 20). ^^ Come to Me, all 
you that labor, and are burdened, and I will re- 
fresh you" (Matt xi. 28). " Turn ye to Me, 
saith the Lord of hosts; and I will turn to 
you " (Zach. i. 3). ^^ Ab I live, I desire not the 
death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn 
from his way and live" (Ezech. xxxiii. 11). 
" I am weary of entreating thee " (Jer. xv. 6). 
^^ If the wicked do penance and keep My com- 
mandments, I will not remember his iniqui- 
ties " {Ezech. xviii. 21). 

3. On Account of the Merits of Jesus Christ, 

Jesus is both God and man. As God His 
actions have infinite value; in His human na- 
ture He paid the price of our redemption. 
One prayer, one tear, one drop of His blood 
would have made adequate atonement for the 
sins of the world. But this did not satisfy the 
burning love of Jesus. To manifest His love, 
and to constrain us to love Him in return. He 



68 DISPOSITIONS FOR THE INTERIOR LIFE 

shed the last drop of His precious blood in our 
behalf. Hence St. John Chrysostom calls his 
crucified Master " the hope of Christians, the 
staff of the lame, the comfort of the poor, the 
destruction of the proud, the victory over the 
devil, the guide of youth, the rudder of sailors, 
the refuge of those who are in danger, the 
counsellor of the just, the rest of the afilicted, 
the physician of the sick, and the glory of mar- 
tyrs/' 

4. On Account of the Protection of the Blessed 
Virgin. 

Mary loves all mankind with a mother's love. 
She gave us the Saviour, and so has a double 
interest in every one of us. When she offered 
the divine Infant in the temple she consented 
to the decree of the heavenly Father condemn- 
ing Him to die that we might live. This sacri- 
fice Mary consummated beneath the cross of 
ber dying Son, where she became the Mother 
of Sorrows. If Mary made this sacrifice to 
give us spiritual life, she certainly will do all 
in her power to foster it. And her influence 
is all-powerful with that God of goodness who 
made her a worthy mother for His divine 
Son. 



CONFinmCB IN GOD 5^ 

5. On Account of the Mission of the Catholic 
Church, 

Jesus Christ established the Catholic Church 
to bring peace on earth to all of good will. 
Guided by the Holy Ghost she brings peace to 
honest minds by teaching them the truths of re- 
ligion with divine certainty. She brings peace 
to the human heart by reconciling the repent- 
ant sinner with God, and by making the just 
taste how good God is to those who love and 
serve Him. And she assures her children of 
abiding peace by offering them the means of 
perseverance amid the trials of life, and the 
divine assurance of endless bliss. 

6. On Account of the Power of Prayer. 

Prayer is the key to the infinite treasures 
of God's mercy and the boundless merits of 
Jesus Christ Behold the testimony of Sacred 
Scripture ; " Call upon Me, and I will deliver 
thee'' (Jer. xxxiii. 3). "Ask and it shall be 
given you: seek and you shall find: knock and 
it shall be opened unto you" (Matt. vii. 7). 
" You shall ask whatever you will, and it shall 
be done unto you" (John xv. 7). "If you 
shall ask Me anything in My name, that I will 
do" (John xiv. 14). "Amen, amen, I say to 



60 DISPOSITIONS FOR THE INTERIOR LIFE 

you: if yon ask the Father anything in My 
name, He will give it you" (John xvi. 23). 

7. On Account of the Intercession of the Angels 
and Saints, 

^' The continual prayer of a just man availeth 
much '' (James v. 16). If the prayer of Abra- 
ham, of Moses, and of other holy men and 
women had great influence with God while they 
were on earth, how much more influence must 
the angels and saints have before the throne of 
God? God Himself has appointed His angels 
our guardians, and His Church has placed us 
under the special protection of the saints. 
Hence, according to the teaching of St. Thomas, 
it is evidently the plan of God, that we be 
brought to Him through the influence of those 
who surround His throne, and that the more per- 
fect members of Christ's mystical body aid the 
imperfect members to increase in charity and 
thus become more and more godlike. 

III. StrBMISSION TO GOD'S EEPEESEN- 
TATIVES. 

1. Loyalty to Jesus Christ 

All our hope is in our Mediator Jesus Christ. 
" The Father hath given all things into His 



SUBMISSION TO GOD'S REPRESENTATIVES 61 

hands" (John iii. 35). He ransomed ns at a 
great price. To Him we swore allegiance in 
holy Baptism. He is '' the way, the truth and 
the life" (John xiv. 6). 'No one can go to 
the Father except through Him. He is the 
judge of the living and the dead, the conqueror 
of hell, and the bestower of the crown of life. 
As His mystical members we should make the 
interest of Jesus Christ our own. Loyalty to 
, Him should prompt us to further the glory 
of God and the welfare of souls. Loyalty to 
Him should prompt us to copy Him in our daily 
lives, until, with St. Paul, we glory only in the 
cross of Jesus Christ. 

2. Loyalty to the Catholic Church. 

To His Church Jesus Christ said, ^^ As the 
Father hath sent Me I also send you " (John 
XX. 21). The loyalty, then, which we owe to 
the Saviour, we owe likewise to His Church. 
Or rather, as fraternal charity is the test of 
our love for God, so loyalty to the Catholic 
Church is the evidence of our loyalty to Jesus 
Christ. In the desolation of Gethsemani Jesus 
looked in vain for sympathy from His disciples. 
In the conflicts with her enemies shall holy 
Church look in vain for sympathy from her chil- 
dren ? Shall she be forced to complain as God 



62 DISPOSITIONS FOR THE INTERIOR LIFE 

did of old ; ^^ I have brought up children, and 
exalted them ; but they have despised me ? " 
(Is. i. 2.) If we are to be loyal members of the 
Catholic Church, vre must enter readily into 
the views of our Holy Father, of our bishops 
and pastors, rejoice with them in their suc- 
cess, sympathize with them in their trials, and 
do all we can by prayer and good works to aid 
them in extending the reign of Christ in the 
hearts of men. 

3. Respect for Lawful Authority. 

As " there is no power but from God '' (Bom. 
xiii. 1), respect for authority must be a char- 
acteristic of every loyal Catholic. By incul- 
cating obedience to the various established 
forms of government in the world, the Catholic 
Church is a pillar of support alike to kingdoms 
and republics, while at the same time she cham- 
pions the rights of every member of society, by 
condenming an abuse of authority as tyranny. 
In like manner the Church safeguards the per- 
manence of the home by defending the rights 
of parents over their children, and the obliga- 
tion of all, but especially of the children, to re- 
spect the sacred rights of parents in the 
home. 



DETERMINATION TO ATTAIN PERFECTION 63 

4. Ohedience to Our Spiritual Director. 

Pride and self-love easily deceive us on the 
journey of life. To protect ns against this 
self-deception Jesus Christ has given us the 
priests of His Church as the official inter- 
preters of His law, and the divine directors 
of our consciences. To them He said : '' He 
that heareth you, heareth Me" {Luke ix. 16). 
Because the blind can not lead the blind, the 
Catholic Church requires her priests to prepare 
by years of study and prayer to assume the re- 
sponsibilities of their office. An humble and 
docile soul that submits in a spirit of faith to 
the guidance of her spiritual director enjoys 
the greatest peace and security. A proud and 
selfish spirit, on the other hand, that desires 
the evidence of sense or reason instead of the 
teaching of faith, will seek in vain for peace of 
mind or heart as long as she refuses to submit 
to the guidance of Christ's representative. 

IV. DETEEMIN'ATION TO ATTAIN" 
PEEFECTION. 

Perfection is the absolute and complete at- 
tainment of man's final end or destiny. As a 
characteristic of a holy life on earth, however, 



64 DISPOSITIOyS FOR THE INTERIOR LIFE 

perfection essentially consists in the love and 
friendship of God. There are three degrees or 
stages of this love. In the first man does as 
much good as is necessary to avoid offending 
God by mortal sin. In the second he goes 
farther and avoids deliberate venial sin. In 
the third stage he is so intimately united to 
God by the bond of divine charity that he cor- 
rects his natural defects and does the will of 
God in all things. 

The general means whereby man grows in 
the love and friendship) of God and advances on 
the way to perfection are: (1) self-denial, or 
the subjugation of himself to the influence of 
grace; (2) the practice of virtue; (3) and con- 
formity to the divine will. 

The heavenly Father, being infinitely per- 
feet, is the standard of all perfection. As the 
image and likeness of God, man's life-task is to 
reproduce in himself the divine perfections ac- 
cording to his capacity. Hence the Saviour 
said : " Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father 
is perfect'' (Matt. v. 48). 

Man starts on the way to perfection as soon 
as he strives to know, love, and serve God. On 
the way he has Jesus for his model, Mary for 
his mother, the Church for his teacher, the Holy 
Ghost for his counselor, the i^riest of God for 



DETERMINATION TO ATTAIN PERFECTION 65 

his director, the angels and saints for his 
friends, and prayer, the sacraments, and the 
sacramentals as the means of obtaining divine 
strength. 

To progress securely on the way to perfec- 
tion, man mnst advance gradually along the 
three stages, and be actuated by the determina- 
tion not to relax until he has entered the king- 
dom of heaven. 

1. The Christian Ideal, 

" This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well 
pleased^' {Matt. iii. 17). Jesu.s Christ is the 
divine Model proposed for our imitation. His 
ambition was the glory of God and the welfare 
of souls; His strength, the love of God and of 
mankind; His daily bread, the will of His 
heavenly Father. He abhorred sin and tri- 
umphed over every weakness. He was the un- 
compromising enemy of the world and the 
conqueror of the powers of hell. 

In us " the flesh lusteth against the spirit," 
while the world and the devil use even our 
friends to allure us to a life of self-indulgence. 
And yet " Time is short," '' Life shall pass as 
the trace of a cloud," " It is appointed unto 
man once to die, and after this the judgment," 
" What things a man shall sow, those also he 



66 DISPOSITIONS FOR THE INTERIOR LIFE 

shall reap/' ^^ These shall go Into everlasting 
punishment: but the just into life everlasting." 

We cannot escape from almighty God ; neither 
can we turn back to nothingness. We must go 
onward, either on the broad road that leads to 
perdition^ or on the narrow way that leads to 
life everlasting. 

If we constantly aim at the Christian ideal 
and strive to reproduce it in our lives, Jesus 
assures us that His yoke is sweet and His bur- 
den light. Trusting in Him, therefore, both 
for the grace to will and to do, we may confi- 
dently say with St. Paul : " I know whom I 
have believed, and I am certain that He is able 
to keep that which I have committed unto Him 
against that day" (2 Tim. i. 12). 

2. Horror for Sin. 

Sin is a revolt, an act of the basest contempt 
and the vilest ingratitude towards the God of 
infinite majesty and goodness; an act which re- 
news the cause of the death of Jesus Christ. 
Sin robs man of the blessings of grace and of 
the treasures of merit and virtue. It turns him 
from the pursuit of happiness and plunges him 
into misery. From a child of God and an heir 
to the kingdom of heaven it degrades him into 



DETEmilNATION TO ATTAIN PERFECTION 67 

a slave of Satan, and condemns him to the 
punishment of hell. 

The first step, therefore, in the pursuit of the 
Christian ideal is a horror for sin and its conse- 
quences, founded on the abiding conviction that 
sin is the greatest evil in the world. An abid- 
ing horror for sin thus impels man to negative 
perfection, (1) by guarding him against sinful 
temptations and occasions; (2) by prompting 
him to avoid every deliberate sinful action; (3) 
and, finally, by spurring him on to do penance 
for his past sins. 

3. A Spirit of Reflection. 

" With desolation is all the land made deso- 
late; because there is none that considereth in 
the heart'' {Jer. xii. 11). In these words the 
prophet tells us why his people were steeped in 
ignorance and vice. There was " none that con- 
sidereth in the heart." We consider in the 
heart by a spirit of reflection, by meditating on 
the eternal truths, and applying them honestly 
to ourselves. 

No matter how fascinating the Christian 
ideal, or how shocking the malice and conse- 
quences of sin, the former will not attract us, 
nor the latter repel us unless we keep them 



68 DISPOSITIONS FOR THE INTERIOR LIFE 

vividly before our minds. Hence the older 
spiritual writers emphasized the necessity of 
mental prayer at stated times. If the stressj 
and confusion of modern life will not permit us 
to set aside certain hours of the day for serious 
reflection, we must, to ensure our salvation,! | 
make up for this misfortune by cultivating a 
spirit of closer recollection and prayer in the 
performance of our routine duties. For, unless 
w^e keep the Christian ideal and the evil of sin 
vividly before our minds, they will gradually 
fade away, and, in proportion as they do, will 
they be replaced by worldly-mindedness and 
selfishness of heart. As the attitude of the 
mind engenders the desires of the heart and the 
resolution of the will, and dictates our rule of 
conduct, a spirit of reflection is the first req- 
uisite on the narrow way. 

4. A Spirit of Compunction. 

The habitual grief of the soul arising from a 
constant remembrance of our own sinfulness is 
called a spirit of compunction. It arises from 
concentrating our horror of sin in general on 
our own sins in particular. This reflection 
makes us realize our guilt and the punishment 
our sins deserve. The disposition which re- 
sults is called a spirit of compunction because 



DETERMINATION TO ATTAIN PERFECTION 69 

it pierces our hearts witli a detestation and 
hatred of our sins, and prompts us to exclaim in 
the words of Jeremias: " The mercies of the 
Lord that we were not consumed '' (Lam. iii. 

22). 

The spirit of compunction prompts us to do 
violence to ourselves for the kingdom of heaven, 
and to despise the world and the powers of 
darkness. It grounds us in humility and 
the fear of the Lord, and spurs us on to serve 
God ever with greater generosity and stronger 
fidelity. 

5. Subjugation of the Flesh. 

Before sin came into the world man's lower 
nature was under the control of his reason. 
Now " the flesh lusteth against the spirit " and 
" he that soweth in his flesh, of the flesh also 
shall reap corruption" (Gal vi. 8). By the 
subjugation of the flesh we therefore mean the 
bringing of our animal cravings under the do- 
minion of reason. To effect this subjugation 
of the flesh we must (1) compel it to do pen- 
ance for its rebellion; (2) mortify the senses 
and passions to bring them into subjection; (3) 
and pray earnestly for light to see ourselves 
as God sees us, and for grace to triumph in this 
lifelong conflict. 



70 DISPOSITIONS FOR THE INTERIOR LIFE 

6. Subjugation of the Spirit. 

'' Where pride is, there also shall be reproach : 
but where humility is, there also is wisdom " 
(Prov. xi. 2). Pride is the beginning of all 
sin, humility the bed-rock on which our spiritual 
edifice must rest. Pride is an exaggerated idea 
of our excellence, humility the realization of 
the truth that we are nothing of ourselves but 
sin. Pride prompts us to be " like unto God '^ 
and to assert our independence; humility 
prompts us to live in grateful subjection to God, 
on whom we entirely depend. 

By the subjugation of the spirit we therefore 
mean (1) the discarding of the groundless pre- 
tensions of pride; (2) and habituating ourselves 
to conform to truth and justice, especially as 
proposed to us by the teaching of faith. 

7. Contempt of the World, 

As followers of Jesus Christ we must despise 
and hate the world. We must despise its false 
principles and maxims, its selfish motives and 
hypocritical rules of conduct. We must hate 
its seductive honors and allurements, and scorn 
its tyrannical assumptions and implacable en- 
mity. 

The world hates the truth, and rewards its 



DETERMINATION TO ATTAIN PERFECTION 71 

slaves with temporal and eternal misery. Con- 
tempt of the world is, therefore, both an evi- 
dence and an effect of a practical faith. The 
light of faith alone enables us to understand the 
false assumptions and the pernicious influence 
of the world, and to triumph over it and the 
weakness of human respect. Hence St. John 
says : " Whatever is born of God overcometh 
the world: and this is the victory which over- 
cometh the world, our faith" (John v. 4). 

8. Contempt of Satan. 

Since Mary crushed the serpent's head, and 
Jesus triumphed over the powers of hell, Satan 
has become as a chained dog or as a caged beast. 
As long as we (1) fear and tremble at the 
thought of our own weakness, (2) watch and 
pray lest we fall into temptation, (3) and call 
on Jesus and Mary in time of temptation, we 
enjoy the special protection of divine Provi- 
dence, and may safely despise all the powers of 
hell. In fact, an excessive fear of the power of 
Satan springs as much from a want of con- 
fi.dence in God, as a false security against the 
powers of darkness is an evidence of a want of 
practical faith. In the temptation in the desert 
Jesus was, humanly speaking, taken at a dis- 
advantage by the devil. And yet He did not 



72 DISPOSITIONS FOR THE INTERIOR LIFE 

give way to fear when tempted, but calmly said : 
" Begone, Satan : for it is written, the Lord thy 
God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou 
serve'' (Matt. iv. 10). 

9. A Spirit of Prayer. 

To take up our daily cross and follow the 
Master we need the help of God at every step. 
By our daily prayers and frequentation of the 
sacraments we ordinarily do not submit our- 
selves sufficiently to the influence of grace to 
progress with the full liberty of children of God. 
For this a spirit of prayer is necessary. Three 
pious practices combine to form a spirit of 
prayer: (1) the habit of recollection, or liv- 
ing in the presence of God; (2) the habit of 
devotion, or inclining to God with childlike con- 
fidence; (3) the habit of ejaculatory prayer and 
interior communion with God. 

10. Sincerity. 

Sincerity is that attitude of our mind which, 
being free from ignorance or bias, enables us to 
grasp the excellence of the Christian ideal, and 
begets the desire and the resolution to attain it. 
It results from a serious reflection on the teach- 
ing of faith, united with heartfelt prayer. Sin- 
cerity enables us to view life from the true, 



DETERMINATIOlSf TO ATTAIN PERFECTION 73 

eternal^ immutable standpoint of almighty God- 
It manifests itself in that single-mindedness of 
purpose which subordinates all things to " the 
one thing necessary " and renders us indifferent 
to all that is not subservient to this end. It was 
this sincere apprehension of the relative value 
of temporal and eternal things that made St. 
Paul exclaim : " I count all things to be but 
loss for the excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ 
my Lord ; for whom I have suffered the loss of 
all things, and count them but as dung, that I 
may gain Christ '' (Phil. iii. 8). 

11. Desire. 

The desire of perfection is a longing to please 
God and to make the necessary sacrifices to do 
His holy will in all things. " Holy desires are 
the blessed wings/^ says St. Alphonsus, " on 
which the saints fly to the mountain of per- 
fection." As the heart necessarily desires 
whatever the mind apprehends as excellent and 
attainable, the ardor of our desires will natu- 
rally grow or diminish in proportion as we grasp 
the importance of spiritual things or permit 
them to fade from our minds. Holy desires 
inspire us (1) with the courage to enter reso- 
lutely on the narrow way, (2) with the strength 
to surmount all obstacles, (3) with the forti- 



74 Dlf^POSITIONS FOR THE INTERIOR LIFE 

tude to face the temptations and trials of life. 
To inspire us with these desires it is specially 
useful, besides meditating on the eternal truths 
and the life of our blessed Saviour, to study the 
lives of those saints who at one time had been 
great sinners, or who lived and sanctified them- 
selves in our own circumstances. Such ex- 
amples will prompt us to say with St. Augus- 
tine : " These have done it, those have done it ; 
why then can not I ? " 

12. Resolution. 

In the spiritual life a resolution is a deter- 
mination to please God. We should make the 
resolution to belong entirely to God and to 
please Him in all things. " God looks for only 
one resolution on our part," truly remarks St. 
Teresa, " and He will do the rest Himself." 
By this resolution, firmly and irrevocably made 
and continually applied to the circumstances of 
our daily lives, we are made fit material, like 
clay in the potter's hands, to be transformed by 
God into vessels of election. 

According to St. Alphonsus this resolution 
includes the determination (1) to avoid every 
deliberate fault; (2) to detach ourselves from 
earthly things; (3) to be faithful in prayer and 
mortification; (4) to keep the eternal truths 



DETERMINATION TO ATTAIN PERFECTION 75 

and the passion of Jesus Christ before our 
minds; (5) to resign ourselves to the will of 
God in adversities; (6) to beg of God continu- 
ally the gift of His holy love; (7) to do what 
seems most pleasing to God; (8) to carry this 
resolution into effect in the present. 

The three general motives which prompt us 
to form and keep this resolution are the fear of 
hell, the desire of heaven^ and the love of God. 

13, Generosity. 

Generosity is ^^ wholesouledness ^^ in the serv- 
ice of God. The generous Christian knows 
his limitations as well as the timid and the luke- 
warm, but, serving God through love, he joy- 
fully does what he can, and confidently relies on 
the assistance and guidance of heaven. With 
St. Paul he not only says, '^ I can do all things 
in Him who strengtheneth me,'' but is also, like 
him, willing to endure all things that God or- 
dains. Generosity is begotten by the fear of 
the Lord, stimulated by the hope of reward, 
and perfected by the love of God. It makes us 
detest the faults of the past, rejoice in the good 
we have done, utilize the present moment faith- 
fully, and desire to do great things to testify our 
love and devotion. Generosity makes us seek 
opportunities of doiug good, seize them with 



76 DISPOSITIONS FOR THE INTERIOR LIFE 

avidit} , and produce a perfect work. It was 
the generosity of St. Paul that prompted him to 
be anathema from Christ for the conversion of 
his brethren (Bom. ix. 3). 

14. Fervor, 

Fervor is affection in the service of God. 
What generosity is in disposition that fervor is 
in action. St. Basil calls fervor an efficacious 
desire of pleasing God in all things. When a 
good will has blossomed into holy desires and 
matured into a practical resolution, it stimu- 
lates the affections of a generous soul and makes 
them glow with fervor. 

Fervor manifests itself (1) by the rigor of 
our penance and mortification; (2) by our rec- 
ollection and devotion in prayer; (3) by our 
zeal for the glory of God and the good of souls ; 
(4) and by our love of humiliation and the 
cross. 

Fervor imparts that facility and sweetness to 
the service of God which accelerates and insures 
our progress in perfection. 

15. Docility, 

Docility is submissiveness to the will of God, 
whether made known by His law, through the 
voice of our superior, or by the inspiration of 



STRIVING AFTER PERFECTION 77 

grace. It manifests itself in the respect we 
have for authority, in the reverence v^e have for 
our superiors, and in the readiness with which 
we welcome the inspirations of grace. Young 
Samuel had this spirit of docility when he said : 
" Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth " 
(1 Kings iii. 10). King David also gave us an 
example of it when he prayed : '^ Teach me to 
do thy will ; for thou art my God '^ (Ps. cxlii. 
10). 

V. STUIVIKG AFTER PERFECTION. 

1. Promptitude, 

Promptitude in the service of God is eager- 
ness to please Him. It flows from a spirit of 
docility animated by the love of God, and mani- 
fests itself (1) in the exactness with which we 
perform the duties of our state in life; (2) in 
the willingness with which we carry our cross; 
(3) and in the alacrity, cheerfulness, and thor- 
oughness with which we strive to please God 
in all things. It induces us to concentrate our 
energies on the task before us, and to accomplish 
much under disadvantages and in a short time. 

2. Continuous Effort. 

By a continuous effort in the service of God 
we mean that our efforts should never relax till 



78 DISPOSITIONS FOR THE INTERIOR LIFE 

our eartlily pilgrimage is ended. The very 
nature of our earthly trial demands this un- 
interrupted endeavor on our part. Now time, 
grace, and opportunity are given us. If we 
employ them in God's service we progress; if 
we neglect to use them we recede. In this life 
there is no stopping place, no time when we are 
exempt from doing God's holy will. Eternal 
rest awaits us in heaven. If, then, we neglect 
to co-operate even with a single grace, that 
neglect may break the chain of graces that leads 
to final perseverance, and so may be the first 
step to our final reprobation. 

3. Gradual Progress. 

The spiritual life is composed of a divine and 
a human element. The divine element is the 
grace of God; the human, our fallen nature 
actuated by good will. Both elements combine 
to effect the spiritual life within us, the human 
element supplying the nxaterial or favorable 
condition, while the grace of God is the efficient 
cause of our sanctification. The human ele- 
ment progresses by self-denial and patient en- 
durance of the cross in imitation of the Master ; 
the divine, by an infusion of additional grace. 

As the human element progresses by being 
more and more subjected to the influence of 



SmiVlNa AFTER PERFECTION 79 

grace, its progress is usually slow and neces- 
sarily gradual, though always proportionate to 
the violence we do to ourselves. The progress 
of the divine element, or the influence of grace, 
when not miraculous^ is also gradual, because 
proportionate to the capacity of the human ele- 
ment. God is indeed lavish, but not reckless, 
with His grace. He gives the increase in pro- 
portion to our fidelity in co-operating with it, or 
in proportion as we increase our capacity for 
grace by the gradual surrender of ourselves 
through conformity to His holy will. 

4. Patience. 

Patience is that self-possession which enables 
us to conform to the will of God in the trials of 
life. The trials of life arise (1) from the 
nature of our earthly pilgrimage; (2) from the 
infirmity of human nature; (8) from the con- 
duct of others; (4) from the influence of the 
spirit-world; (5) and from the special dis- 
pensations of divine Providence. 

Patience (1) makes us masters of ourselves 
and our surroundings; (2) makes us Christlike 
in our love of the cross; (3) makes us the be- 
loved children of God; (4) entitles us to the 
reward of heaven; (5) and gives that "peace 
of God, which siirpasseth all understanding" 



80 DISPOSITIONS FOR THE INTERIOR LIFE 

(Phil. iv. 7). To possess our souls in patience 
St. Alphonsus exhorts us (1) to anticipate the 
trials that await us; (2) to pray for strength 
to endure them ; (3) to frequent the sacraments; 
(4) to live in intimate union with God. 

5. Decision in Temptation. 

Decision in temptation is vigor and prompti- 
tude in resisting the inclinations to sin. Our 
will may act with this decision even when our 
nature is rebellious and hankers for what is 
forbidden. And, practically^ the greater the 
effort necessary to triumph over a temptation, 
the greater is also the victory and the merit. 

As every temptation puts our loyalty to Jesus 
Christ to the test, we should be more concerned 
about our decision than about the nature of the 
temptation which may assail us. Our hope of 
triumph is in the goodness and promises of God, 
but the grace of God can not crown us with 
victory before we have stood the test of resist- 
ing the temptation with decision. 

To maintain this decision and conquer every 
temptation we must (1) habitually despise the 
flesh, the world, and the devil; (2) be constant 
in prayer and the frequentation of the sacra- 
ments; (3) make devout use of blessed articles; 
(4) and occasionally reveal our severer tempta- 



STRIVING AFTER PERFECTION 81 

tions to our director. Most temptations are 
easily overcome by making contrary acts in a 
spirit of faith. The saints of God advise us, 
however, to turn away from temptations against 
faith and holy purity, and conquer them by in- 
voking the aid of Jesus and Mary while occupy- 
ing our minds with other subjects. The reason 
for this salutary advice is because temptations 
against faith and holy purity are intensified by 
actual opposition. " I do believe. Lord ; help 
my unbelief (Mark ix. 23). ^*^ As I knew 
that I could not otherwise be continent, except 
God gave it; I went to the Lord and besought 
Him" (Wis. viii. 21). 

6. Avoidance of the Occasion of Sin. 

The occasion of sin is something external to 
us, which allures us to sin. For one it is as- 
sociation with a certain person, for another the 
reading of a certain book, for a third the fre- 
quentation of a certain place. Again, some 
occasions are dangerous to faith, others to mod- 
esty, to temperance, to justice, or to charity. 

By the law of self-preservation we are bound 
to avoid the proximate occasion of sin. When 
this is impossible we must render its danger, or 
allurement, remote by special vigilance and 
prayer. For the Holy Ghost says : '' He that 



82 DISPOSITIONS FOR THE INTERIOR LIFE 

loveth the danger shall perish in it/' and " He 
that contemneth small things shall fall by little 
and little" {Ecclus. iii. 27; ix. 1). 

As long as we (1) avoid the proximate occa- 
sion of sin when we can; (2) render the oc- 
casion remote where it is impossible to avoid 
it; (3) renew our determination to avoid every 
sin; (4) and fortify ourselves by prayer, we 
have a claim on the special protection of Provi- 
dence, and may rest assured that God will de- 
liver us. But, to seek the occasion of sin, or 
tarry voluntarily in it, besides incurring the 
guilt of the sin, is an act of presumption in 
which Samson, the strongest, and Solomon, the 
wisest, of men, succumbed. 

7. Search for the Occasion of Doing Good. 

An occasion of doing good is an opportunity 
of pleasing God. All are given the opportunity 
of fulfilling the duties of their state in life, as 
well as the opportunity of performing various 
acts of fraternal charity and Christian mercy. 
Our first aim should be to perform the duties 
of our state in life conscientiously, and then to 
seek those occasions of doing good (1) which 
harmonize with our calling; (2) which are most 
urgent; (3) which are nearest at hand. It is 



STRIVING AFTER PERFECTION 83 

better to seek the ordinary occasions of doing 
good rather than the extraordinary, and to pre- 
fer the hidden ones to those which earn for us 
the applause of the world. 

8. Sadness and Cheerfulness. 

Sadness is a depression of heart which tends 
to exaggerate our troubles, to paralyze our en- 
ergies, and to make us rebel at the trials of life. 
It may be caused (1) by physical infirmity, (2) 
by nervous strain, (3) by a sulky mood of our 
wounded pride or self-love, (4) by the weight 
of the burdens of life, (5) by remorse of con- 
science, (6) by the circumsession of an evil 
spirit, (7) by an extraordinary visitation of 
Providence. 

Cheerfulness, on the other hand, is a buoy- 
ancy of spirit which inclines us to look on the 
bright side of things, fills us with enthusiasm, 
and enables us to bear the burdens of life with 
ease and pleasure. It may be caused (1) by 
the glow of health, (2) by the gratification of 
our pride or self-love, (3) by congenial occupa- 
tion or surroundings, (4) by the peace of a 
good conscience, (5) by sensible fervor, (6) by 
the alluring influence of grace. 

We can repress tendencies to sadness and cul- 



84 DISPOSITIONS FOR THE INTERIOR LIFE 

tivate cheerfulness by resigning onrselves un- 
reservedly to the dispensations of Providence, 
and by seeking to please God alone in all things. 

9. Attention to Details. 

Attention to details is essential to produce a 
perfect work. Our daily life is made up mostly 
of minor obligations and petty trials. Heroic 
sacrifices are rarely required in a lifetime. 
Though the main duties of our calling demand 
our first attention, the details are also of obliga- 
tion. By performing these with due attention, 
we also fulfil the former well and thus bring 
forth fruit a hundred-fold. Continual atten- 
tion to details in shunning evil and doing good 
is not only the greatest evidence of our loyalty 
to God, but also the evidence of virtue as heroic 
as is found in the lives of the canonized saints. 

10. Good Use of the Present Moment. 

The present moment links the eternity of the 
past wdth the eternity to come. The past will 
never return; the future is in God's keeping. 
The present is the time of grace and oppor- 
tunity. If we concentrate our energies on the 
present moment, our labor will be easy because 
sustained by grace, and our burden light be- 
cause proportioned to our strength. 



STRIVING AFTER PERFECTION 85 

The present moment is so precious that St. 
Augustine calls it " a drop from the ocean of 
eternity." When used well it accumulates 
treasures for us in heaven, but when neglected 
or misspent it will be evidence of our guilt for 
the day of wrath. 

11. Frequent Renewal of Our Good Intention. 

As the hand of the compass turns to the 
ITorth so human nature instinctively inclines to 
earthly things. To concentrate our energies on 
spiritual things we must counteract the down- 
ward tendency of our corrupt nature by a fre- 
quent renewal of our good intention. No mat- 
ter how clear our perception of the Christian 
ideal, how complete the conquest over our ene- 
mies, how sincere our intention, how ardent our 
desires, and how determined our resolution, if 
we do not recollect ourselves and renew our in- 
tention from time to time, our fervor will cool, 
our generosity will decrease, and our vigilance 
will relax. In this lamentable condition we 
not only squander time and grace and commit 
many faults, but are apt to succumb to any 
serious temptation. On this account all Chris- 
tians are exhorted to renew their good intention 
at least every morning. St. Alphonsus exhorts 
us to make sl good intention at the beginning of 



86 DISPOSITIONS FOR THE INTERIOR LIFE 

every undertaking, to renew it when the clock 
strikes, and to make it efficacious by the practice 
of ejaculatory prayer and the occasional recita- 
tion of a Hail Mary. At least let us accustom 
ourselves to repeat as often as we think of God^, 
'' All for the glory of God and the good of souls. 
All out of love for Jesus and Mary. All ac- 
cording to God's holy will." 

12. Fidelity, 

Fidelity in the service of God is a persever- 
ing effort to avdid evil and do good. It is es- 
sential to attain eternal happiness. '' Be thou 
faithful until death/' says our Saviour, " and I 
will give thee the crown of life '' (Apoc. ii. 10). 

'' To begin well/' says St. Teresa, " is half 
the victory, but to receive the crown of glory we 
must die a holy death.'' It matters little when 
or where we shall die as long as we keep our- 
selves in readiness by fidelity in God's service. 
'' Wherefore be you ready," exhorts our Sa- 
viour, ^' because at what hour you know not the 
Son of man will come " (Matt. xxiv. 44). We 
insure this fidelity or final perseverance by serv- 
ing God perfectly moment after moment, hour 
after hour, day after day. It will then not 
matter whether He cuts us off in youth, or per- 
mits us to live to a ripe old age. We shall be 



STRIVING AFTER PERFECTION 87 

ever ready for His summons, and so may con- 
fidently expect to hear those consoling words: 
'' Well done, good and faithful servant, because 
thou hast been faithful over a few things, I 
will place thee over many things: enter thou 
into the joy of thy Lord'' (Matt. xxv. 21). 



SECTION III. 

SELF-DENIAL OB ACTIVE PUBOA- 
TION. 

'^Tf any man will come after Me, let him 
\_ deny himself, and take up his cross daily 
and follow Me '' (Luke ix. 23). In these words 
Our Saviour invites us to follow Him in the 
three phases of the way to perfection. They 
are: (1) self-denial, or rising above the natural 
man by self -discipline and prayer; (2) taking 
up our daily cross by the practice of virtue ; (3) 
following the Master in doing God's will in all 
things. 

In studying the subject of self-denial we will 
consider Self-denial in General, Self-examina- 
tion, Self-castigation, Subjugation of the Car- 
nal Man, Subjugation of the External Senses, 
Subjugation of the Internal Senses, Subjuga- 
tion of the Sensitive Appetites, Subjugation of 
the Will, Subjugation of the Mind to Truth, 
and Subjugation of the Creature to the Creator 

by the Use of the Means of Grace. 

8S 



SELF-DENIAL IN GENERAL 89 

I. SELF-DENIAL IN GENEEAL. 

1. Ohject of Self 'Denial — Purity of Heart. 

^^ Put off the old man, who is comipted ac- 
cording to the desire of error, and put on the 
new man, who according to God is created in 
justice and truth'' (Eph. iv. 22). The object 
of Christian self-denial is to acquire purity of 
heart. This is done (1) by purging our con- 
sciences of the guilt of sin; (2) by doing pen- 
ance for our sins; (3) by rooting out our bad 
habits; (4) by conquering our evil inclinations; 
(5) and by planting the seed of virtue in our 
hearts. As the grace of God is the efficient 
cause of this purification, we can make our self- 
denial productive only by sanctifying it by 
prayer. In fact self-denial and prayer must be 
the inseparable companions of every one that 
journeys on the narrow way. 

2. Motive of Self -Denial — The Fear of the Lord. 

^^ Fear Him that can destroy both soul and 
body in hell '' (Matt. xix. 28). The fear of the 
Lord is reverence for God on account of His 
power to punish all who violate His holy law. 
God is everywhere and sees all things. " In 
Him we live, and move, and are." He has 



90 SELF'DE'SIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

given no one an indetinite lease on life, ^^ At 
what hour jou know not the Son of man will 
come." '' It is aj^pointed unto man once to 
die, and aft^r this, the judgment." " Then 
vnll He render to every man according to his 
works." But as '^ the Lord is good to them that 
hope in Him, to the soul that seeketh Him," the 
Saviour exhorts us to be converted and live. 
'' Do penance," He says, '' for the kingdom of 
God is at hand." And St. Paul assures us that 
'^ if we judge ourselves, we shall not be judged " 
by God. Thus the mercy of God gives the sin- 
ner hope and inspires him with incipient love, 
while the fear of the Lord prompts him to be 
converted and live. Indeed, '' It is a fearful 
thing to fall into the hands of the living God " 
(Heh. X. 31). 

3. Order in Self -Denial. 

To insure the success of an undertaking we 
must do three things: (1) Concentrate our 
efforts on what is essential; (2) follow a wise 
plan in our development; (3) and pay proper 
attention to the smallest details in due season. 

In applying these general rules to the work 
of self-denial the masters of the spiritual life 
direct us (1) to purify our hearts first from 
mortal sin, its proximate occasion, and the bad 



SELF-DENIAL IN GENERAL 91 

habit it may have engendered; (2) in eradica- 
ting venial sin, to concentrate our efforts first on 
external sins that easily scandalize our neigh- 
bor; (3) with the advice of onr spiritual direc- 
tor to single ont our predominant fault and 
make it the object of particular examination; 
(4) finally, to be humble, patient, and perse- 
vering in our efforts, and to put our hope of 
success in Jesus and Mary. 

4. Signs of Self -Denial, 

As the resistance of the wind or of the waves 
and the passing of landmarks indicate the speed 
with which we progress on land or on water, so 
there are certain signs that indicate our progress 
on the way to perfection: (1) the ease and per- 
sistence with which we go against our natural 
likes from a motive of faith indicates the subju- 
gation of nature to grace; (2) detestation of sin 
and the avoidance of its voluntary occasions is 
another sure sign of a soul's true conversion to 
God; (3) holy indifference, or detachment from 
the world and earthly things ; (4) the dominion 
we exercise over our passions, or triumph over 
the flesh; (5) and the facility we acquire in 
practising humility and obedience are sure 
signs of progress in self-denial. 



92 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

6. Counsels on Self-Denial. 

In the practice of Christian self-denial we 
should (1) guard against excessive scrupulosity 
by cultivating that loving confidence in God 
which is the foundation of interior peace, im- 
parts to us the liberty of brethren of Jesus 
Christ, and facilitates our perseverance; (2) 
we should be discreet in our efforts so as not to 
unbalance our minds, ruin our health, or give 
us a distaste for spiritual things ; (3) we should 
concentrate our efforts on the present, and trust 
with the aid of grace to do great things for the 
love of God; (4) we should never relax our 
vigilance, our penance, or our prayers; (5) we 
should ever prepare for greater conflicts, and 
not judge our victory by the presence of sen- 
sible sweetness in our souls. This God gives 
us in the beginning to draw us on in the spirit- 
ual life; (6) we should not despair even if we 
had the misfortune to fall into mortal sin, but 
begin anew in all humility. 

II. self-examination. 

Self-knowledge is a necessary requisite for 
prudent self-denial. It is naturally diflScult to 
attain (1) because it is almost impossible for 
us to obtain a true perspective of ourselves; (2) 



SELF-EXAMINATION 93 

because the study of self is humiliating; (3) be- 
cause our pride and self-love easily deceive us ; 
(4) because the world and the devil frown on 
such a study and fill us with repugnance for it. 

With the aid of God's grace, however, we can 
easily make progress in learning ourselves, pro- 
vided we are faithful in the practice of self- 
examination. And in proportion as we grow in 
the knowledge of self, shall we also grow in hu- 
mility, and realize the necessity of cultivating 
a closer union with God. In proportion as we 
acquire a knowledge of ourselves and profit by 
it may we say with St. Paul : ^^ I so run, not 
as at an uncertainty : I so fight, not as one beat- 
ing the air : But I chastise my body, and bring 
it into subjection'' (1 Cor. ix. 26). 

If, on the other hand, we neglect our self- 
examination, we become the willing slaves of 
tepidity and spiritual stagnation, from which 
we may be aroused only when the light of eter- 
iiity will reveal our real selves before the judg- 
ment seat of God. 

1. A General Examination of the Interior. 

A general examination of the interior is a 
complete accounting of our spiritual condition. 
It examines (1) our natural or acquired incli- 
nations; (2) our fidelity to grace; (3) our con- 



94 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURQATION 

duct when tempted; (4) the good and the evil 
we have done; (5) and the intention, the 
motive, and the rule of our actions. 

This general examination, when carefully 
made, gradually enlightens us to see ourselves 
as we are in the sight of God. By renewing it 
from time to time we may observe not only our 
general progi'ess or retrogression, but also dis- 
cover the weak points in our character on which 
we should concentrate our energies. As suc- 
cessful merchants take an inventory of their 
stock and balance their accounts frequently, so 
we do well in making a general examination of 
our interior every month or at least once a year. 

2. The Daily Examination of Conscience, 

As children of God and heirs to the kingdom 
of heaven we should not retire at night witliout 
settling our accounts with the Almighty. In 
the examination of conscience which we are 
urged to make at the close of the day, we are to 
inquire only into the actual sins we may have 
committed, and blot them out by an act of per- 
fect contrition or fervent love of God. The 
strictest severity towards ourselves should char- 
acterize this examination, not so much in the 
time we devote to it, as (1) in the rigor with 



SELF-EXAMINATION 95 

which we judge ourselves, (2) in the sorrow we 
elicit, (3) and in the firmness of our purpose 
of amendment. With these sentiments we may 
retire in peace, and die in peace if God so 
ordains, for '' a contrite and humbled heart, 
O God, Thou wilt not despise" (Ps. 1. 19). 

3. The Particular Examination. 

The particular examination inquires specially 
into the condition of a fault to be eradicated, 
or of a virtue to be practised. In the first stage 
of the spiritual life it is advisable to make our 
predominant fault the subject of this particular 
examination. As we progress it may be profit- 
able to select the subject of fraternal charity. 

In regard to this examination it may be well 
to remark (1) that the subject should corre- 
spond with the stage of our spiritual progress; 
(2) that the subject should not be changed imtil 
additional progress has been made; (3) that the 
particular examination may be made at any con- 
venient time during the day, or in connection 
with the evening examination; (4) that the 
time devoted to this exercise should be brief; 
(5) that the examination itself should consist 
of a short prayer, the self-inspection, an act of 
contrition for failure, of gratitude to God for 



96 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

success, and renewal of our resolution. It 
should conclude vnth a prayer to obtain the 
blessing of heaven on our resolution. 

4. The Examination for a Good Confession. 

As the immediate preparation for a good con- 
fession, the object of this examination of con- 
science is to discover the actual sins we may 
have committed since our last worthy confes- 
sion. In daily life pious souls are often over- 
scrupulous about this examination, while negli- 
gent souls are inclined to be positively lax in 
determining the time and attention which they 
should devote to it. 

Let us therefore see (1) what is essential, (2) 
what is advisable, (3) and what should be 
avoided in this examination. 

As mortal sins alone must be confessed, it is 
essential that the penitent use ordinary care, 
or make a serious effort, to find out his mortal 
sins, including their number and the circum- 
stances which change their nature. It is even 
advisable, when a penitent has a mortal sin to 
confess, to confine both his examination and his 
accusation to mortal sins, as this will empha- 
size his sorrow and purpose of amendment. In 
regard to venial sins it must be borne in mind 
(1) that there is no obligation to confess them 



SELF-EXAMINATION 9! 

as they may be forgiven by an act of contrition ; 
(2) that it leads to delusion to confess them 
without sorrow or purpose of amendment; (3) 
that it is advisable, therefore, to examine our- 
selves on the more deliberate venial sins which 
we intend to confess, and for which we are truly 
sorry. Mere imperfections, however, are not a 
matter for absolution, and should, therefore, not 
be sought in this examination. 

In conclusion it may be well to remark, that, 
though sorrow and purpose of amendment are 
always pleasing to God, a morose inspection of 
our past is apt to delude the mind and excite 
self-commiseration, or lead to discouragement, 
instead of having a purifying effect on the heart. 

6. Sinful Actions, 

Sinful actions must be the first object of our 
self-examination. They may be venial or mor- 
tal according as they are a deliberate transgres- 
sion of the law of God in a slight or in a griev- 
ous matter. Venial sins lessen the fervor of 
the love of God in our hearts, make us less 
worthy of His grace, and make us deserving of 
temporal punishment. 

The effects of mortal sin on the soul are: 
(1) the privation of sanctifying grace; (2) the 
loss of all past merits and even the power of 



98 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

meriting wliile in sin; (3) remorse of con- 
science; (4) the enmity of God; (5) the penalty 
of eternal damnation. 

Some mortal sins -are called sins against the 
Holy Ghost because they abuse the means of 
salvation. They are presumption, despair, im- 
pugning the known truth, envy of a neighbor's 
spiritual progress, obstinacy, and final impeni- 
tence. 

Some mortal sins provoke God in a special 
manner and are called sins crying to heaven 
for vengeance. They are homicide, sodomy, 
oppressing the poor, and defrauding the laborer 
of his hire. Some sins fill the soul v^ith igno- 
rance, malice, and concupiscence, and thereby 
incite man to other sins. For this reason they 
are called Capital Sins. They are pride, ava- 
rice, gluttony, lust, envy, anger, and sloth. 

6. Bad Habits. 

Bad habits are sinful inclinations developed 
by repeated acts. 

When deliberately contracted with a knowl- 
edge of their malice, bad habits are sinful from 
the beginning, and they and their acts subjects 
for confession. But when they grow on one 
without any bad will on one's part, they cer- 
tainly are subjects for serious examination and 



SELF-EXAMINATION 99 

correction, as soon as one learns their evil nature 
and tendency. 

B'ad habits produce a twofold evil effect on 
the soul: (1) they facilitate the commission of 
sin without distracting the mind from other 
things; (2) and cause a routine of action which 
is not necessarily dependent on the influence of 
the will. 

As soon as we realize the evil tendency of a 
sinful habit it becomes our duty to oppose and 
eradicate it. In fact, only in this way can we 
give evidence of our good will, for the Saviour 
says : '' By their fruits you shall know them " 
(Matt. vii. 16). 

7. The Predominant Fault, 

Human nature is selfish and manifests its 
inordinate self-love in every individual by a 
tendency to some particular vice. This tend- 
ency or special inclination is called that per- 
son's predominant passion. When this passion 
shapes one's action, the result is called that 
one's predominant fault. If unchecked this 
fault will be repeated until it blinds its victim 
to his condition, vitiates his character, and hur- 
ries him into many excesses. 

As the predominant fault always tends to one 
of the seven capital sins the saints were right 



100 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

in calling it man's worst foe. On this account 
St. Alphonsus wisely directs us, in conquering 
our faults, not to fix our attention on some 
minor fault, but to concentrate all our eiforts 
on the predominant one as the root of all the 
rest. We may do this in a way most conducive 
to our progress by making the predominant 
fault the subject of our particular examina- 
tion and by humbly making it a matter of con- 
fession. 

8. Human Imperfections. 

An imperfection may be defined (1) as an act 
or omission opposed to a mere counsel; (2) as 
the material transgression of a commandment, 
that is, as an action which Avas entirely indelib- 
erate and involuntary both in itself and in its 
cause, as involuntary distractions in prayer. 
As counsels do not bind in conscience, and, as 
actions in general must be deliberate and volun- 
tary to be morally good or bad, an imperfection 
is no sin in either case. 

Though imperfections are not matter for con- 
fession, they become matter for self-examina- 
tion, spiritual direction, and amendment. As 
indications of our spiritual deficiency they 
•should ii^cite us to vigilance, mortification, and 
prayer. 



SELF-EXAMINATION 101 

9. Idiosyncrasies. 

Idiosyncrasies are those peculiarities of tem- 
perament and character which differentiate the 
personality of individuals. They may be di- 
vided into three classes: (1) traits which 
constitute the charm of one's personality; (2) 
peculiarities, chiefly defects of temperament or 
character which have not yet been eradicated; 
(3) hobbies, or innocent peculiarities which an 
individual has specially developed. Idiosyncra- 
sies of the first kind necessarily enter into every 
Christian character. Those of the second kind 
are found in the imperfect, while those of the 
third kind may be found alike in the sinner and 
in the saint, but not in the personalities of Jesus 
and Mary, who alone did the will of God per- 
fectly in all things. 

10. The Delusions of Wrong Principles, 

By the delusion of a wrong principle we mean 
the self-deception which we practise by acting 
on an erroneous principle which we consider 
true. We may develop this principle as the 
result of an erroneous judgment of our own, 
though we are usually inoculated with its germ 
in our intercourse with others. Wrong prin- 
ciples are as numerous as the vain pursuits of 



102 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

the world, and naturally lead to one of the fol- 
lowing delusions: (1) by magnifying the mate- 
rial they belittle the spiritual order; (2) by 
emj^hasizing the temporal they obscure the true 
perspective of the eternal; (3) by lauding the 
dignity of man they lower the dignity of God ; 
(4) by championing the liberty of man they rob 
him of his liberty as a child of God; (5) by 
emancipating him from subjection to his Maker 
they degrade him to the slavery of the flesh, the 
world, and the devil; (6) by extolling the pleas- 
ures of earth they belittle the joys of heaven; 
(7) by laying up treasures that perish they 
neglect the treasures of grace and merit ; (8) by 
seeking the honors of earth they forfeit the 
glory of the angels and saints; (9) by fearing 
the opinions of men they incur the anger of the 
Almighty; (10) by seeking their heaven on 
earth they make sure of the torments of hell. 

11. The Delusions of Self-Love. 

When self-deception is caused by the prompt- 
ing of our corrupt nature it is called a delusion 
of self-love. The delusions of self-love are not 
easily discovered or eradicated, because (1) 
they are more subtle than the delusions of ^vi'ong 
principles; (2) they enter more intimately into 



SELF-EXAMINATION 103 

our interior lives; (3) and are more effectually 
shielded by self-love. 

The delusions of self-love prompt us (1) to 
be good to ourselves; (2) to seek our ease and 
comfort; (3) to keep ourselves from labor and 
suffering; (4) to minister to our gratifications. 
They lead us (1) to mistake the vain desire of 
virtue for actual progress; (2) to mistake pas- 
sion for virtue; (3) to over-estimate our merit 
and entitle us to exemption and consideration; 
(4) and to underrate the value of others. 
When not discovered and checked in time the 
delusions of self-lov^e will lead us (1) to relax 
our vigilance and prayer; (2) to give the credit 
to ourselves which belongs to God; (3) to be 
oversecure in temptation and wantonly to enter 
the occasion of sin. For these reasons the mas- 
ters of the spiritual life exhort us often to 
make ourselves the subject of our meditations. 
In fact the Saviour warns us to '' watch and 
pray lest we fall into temptation/^ 

12. Ambition. 

In the days of the ancient Roman republic 
the word " Ambition '^ was used in the sense 
of legitimate electioneering, or lawful canvass- 
ing for votes. Since then it has come to stand 



104 SELF-DEMAL OR ACTIVE PURaATION 

for any desire and willingness to do great things. 
On this account timid souls are apt to confound 
it with presumption and the pursuit of vain- 
glory, while the slotliful are apt to point to its 
absence as an evidence of their trust in Provi- 
dence and a justification of their laziness. 

God has implanted ambition in human na- 
ture that we mav strive to do His holy will in 
all things. Hence, when enlightened by faith, 
prompted by charity, and directed by obedience, 
ambition becomes true zeal for the glory of God 
and the welfare of souls. It prompts us to 
spare neither labor nor sacrifice, but to press for- 
ward in close imitation of the Master, and, with 
the help of His grace, to do the will of the 
heavenly Father in all things. On the other 
hand, when perverted by self-love, ambition 
prompts us to offend against charity and jus- 
tice, to rebel against lawful authority, and even 
to follow the example of Lucifer himself. 

As earth is a place of exertion and endurance, 
let us see to it that we have the ambition to 
save and sanctify our souls according to the 
plan of the Almighty. Then, putting our hope 
of success entirely in God, we may confidently 
say with St. Paul: ^^ I can do all things in 
Him who strengtheneth me'' (Phil, iv, 13). 



^ELF'EXAMINATIOlSf 105 

13. Self 'Will. 

By the corruption of human nature through 
original sin the will of man has been weakened 
and brought into opposition to the will of God. 
The personal opposition of an individual to the 
will of God is expressed by self-will. If we 
follow the promptings of self-will we may have 
the satisfaction of doing our own will, but we 
thereby forfeit all claim to a reward in heaven. 
HencCj the beginning of the spiritual life con- 
sists in conquering our self-will, and its per- 
fection in doing the will of God in all things. 
In proportion as we grasp this truth and use it 
as the rule of our lives, will we be encouraged 
by our divine Model, who says : " I do always 
the things that please Him '' (John viii. 29). 

14. Sensuality. 

Sensuality is the tyranny of the flesh over the 
spirit. As intended by God man should be 
guided by reason in ministering to his temporal 
wants. By the corruption of his nature, how- 
ever, not only was man's mind darkened and his 
will weakened, but his inferior faculties were 
perverted and his bodily members condemned to 
decay and death. 

This perversion inclines man's carnal nature 



106 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

to rebel against the dictates of reason, and to 
throw off the dominion of the will. In pro- 
portion as he yields man becomes the slave of 
his sensual nature. This slavery is called sen- 
suality because it pampers the senses, though in 
reality it consists in pandering to the abnormal 
cravings of the vegetative faculties through the 
senses. For, without the craving of hunger, 
thirst, and sex, the glutton, the drunkard, and 
the impure would be rare indeed, while there 
would be little incentive to abuse the senses of 
taste and touch. 

In man's present condition, however, he has 
to fear sensuality more than any other perverse 
influence, (1) because comparatively few exert 
themselves to a degree requisite to clarify their 
minds and strengthen their wills sufficiently to 
exercise dominion over all their actions; (2) 
because man's inferior faculties are the most 
difficult to subdue and to keep under control; 
(3) because of the craving in man for an end- 
less possession of an infinite good. This crav- 
ing, which prompts all man's actions, is per- 
verted and intensified, but never satisfied by 
sensuality. Hence, the lower the sensualist 
falls, the gTcater his misery, the shorter his life, 
and the more terrible his eventual despair and 
remorse in hell. 



SELF-EXAMINATION 107 

15. Peculiarities of the Cross, 

The Cross embraces all the contradictions, 
trials, and sufferings of life. The peculiarities 
of the Cross are its inalienable characteristics. 
Some of these characteristics deserve our special 
attention. 

(1) The Cross intended for us by God is 
really light when borne in conformity with the 
divine will. Our imagination may magnify it, 
our self-love seek to escape it in spite of the 
fact that the Eternal Truth has said : " My 
yoke is sweet, and my burden light " (Matt. xi. 
30). 

(2) The Cross is our earthly burden, which 
we can not lay aside. '' They that fear the 
hoar frost,'' says holy Job, " the snow shall fall 
upon them " (Job vi. 16). 

(3) The Cross is an evidence of God's love; 
the higher our place is to be in heaven, the 
greater must be our Cross on earth. " Whom 
the Lord loveth, he chastiseth; and scourgeth 
every son whom he receiveth " (Heb. xii. 6). 

(4) The Cross is proportioned to our 
strength. For ^' God is faithful, who will not 
suffer you to be tempted above that which you 
are able" (1 Cor. x. 13). 

(5) The Cross passes quickly, and, as the 



lOS SELF-DEXIAL OB ACTIVE PURGATION 

darkest cloud has always the brightest lining, 
so the hea^-iest Cross is the harbinger of the 
greatest blessing. 

(6) The Cross, when faithfully borne 
through life, evolves into the Cro^Ti of heaven, 
but, when borne only through compulsion, dis- 
tils the bitterest poison of hell. 

16. Mans Limitaiions, 

Man's limitations are those circimistances of 
his earthly pilgTimage which confine his efforts 
^vithin the plan of God. To ensure our fidelity 
it is well to keep them in mind. They are life, 
talents, opportunity, and gi-ace. 

(1) Life is our activity on earth. It comes 
from God, and will end when God wills. It is 
the first loan we receive from God, and of which 
we shall have to render a strict account on the 
day of judgTaent. As holy Job says, '^ the life 
of man upon earth is a warfare." We can not 
remain neutral; we must enter the conflict. 
Shall we fight the battles of the Lord against the 
flesh, the world, and the devil, or shall we rel^el 
against the Lord of majesty, our loving Bene- 
factor, and truest Friend ? Ah, blessed shall 
we be if our lives are such that it may be said 
to us as St. Paul said to the Colossians, " Your 
life is hid with Christ in God " {Col iii. 3). 



SELF-EXAMINATION 109 

(2) Our talents are our powers of action. 
They are divine endowments to fit us for the 
position in God's plan for which He has des- 
tined us. If we correspond He will conduct us 
to it by the dispositions of His Providence and 
the voice of our superiors. It is our sacred duty 
to qualify for our calling, and to fill it to the 
best of our ability. Let us therefore bear in 
mind that the Master condemned the servant 
who neglected his talent as well as the one who 
misused it, and that " unto whomsoever much 
is given, of him much shall be required '' {Luke 
xii. 48). 

(3) The opportunity of serving God isi 
given us every moment in the spiritual life. If 
we profit by it in the present, it will bear fruit 
in eternity. If we permit it to pass by it will 
be lost forever. 

(4) Grace is offered us in superabundance 
to attain that perfection to which God has des- 
tined us. E,very grace we use earns an increase. 
Every grace we neglect or abuse will not only 
testify against us, but will be taken from ns and 
given to another. If we squander the entire 
measure destined for our sanctification, we have 
no remaining hope of salvation but the privilege 
of prayer and of recourse to the intercession of 
Mary. 



110 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

III. SELF-CASTIGATION OE PENANCE. 

Self-castigation is the purification of man 
from the effects of sin by the practice of pen- 
ance. As we offend God, defile our souls, and 
incur the penalty of sin by rebelling against 
God, so we honor God, purify our consciences, 
and make satisfaction for sin by voluntary pen- 
ance. Let us now consider the causes we have 
for self-castigation and the ways of practising 
it. 

1. First Cause for Penance — Mortal Sin, 

Mortal sin is a deliberate, voluntary trans- 
gression of God's law in a serious matter. Its 
malice consists in rebelling against God with 
base contempt and vile ingratitude, and thereby 
making an idol unto ourselves of some sinful 
gratification. Its effects are: (1) it insults the 
majesty and goodness of God; (2) it deprives 
man of sanctifying grace, and past merit, and 
renders him incapable to merit heaven; (3) it 
defiles the soul; (4) it burdens the conscience 
with guilt; (5) it condemns the sinner to the 
punishment of an outraged conscience, the loss 
of God's friendship, and brings upon him the 
punishment of hell. 



SELF-CASTIGATION OR PENANCE 111 

The means by which man can undo the effects 
of mortal sin and avoid a relapse are sacramen- 
tal confession, contrition, amendment, resist- 
ance to temptation, flight from the occasion of 
sin, distrust of self and confidence in the mercy 
of God. 

2. Second Cause for Penance — Venial Sin. 

A venial sin is (1) a deliberate, voluntary 
transgression of God's law in a light matter, or 
(2) a transgression in a serious matter where 
the mind was prevented from realizing the ex- 
tent of its malice through ignorance, miscon- 
ception or inadvertence, or where mind or will 
were momentarily hampered, but not paralyzed 
by sudden passion, nervousness, or fear. 
Where physical violence, however, or nervous- 
ness, fear, or antecedent passion deprive man 
entirely of the dominion of an action, it is no 
sin in the sight of God. The effects of venial 
sin are: (1) it slights God; (2) it lessens the 
fear of the Lord and the love of God in our 
hearts; (3) it renders us unworthy of special 
graces; (4) it diminishes our fervor and devo- 
tion; (5) it disposes us for the commission of 
mortal sin; (6) it makes us deserving of tem- 
poral punishment. 



112 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PVRGATIOX 

The means of blotting out venial sin and of 
avoiding it in the future are contrition, repara- 
tion^ vigilance, serious effort, mistrust of self 
and confidence in God. 

3. Third Causa for Penance — Tepidity. 

Tepidity is habitual negligence in doing good 
and in avoiding evil. It is a disgust in the 
sendee of God, a spiritual dyspepsia, a stagna- 
tion in the spiritual life, that enervates the 
mind, smothers charity, extinguishes devotion, 
weakens virtue, and darkens the understanding. 
Tepidity is defined by St. Alphonsus as the habit 
of fully deliberate venial sin. Tepidity is a 
rebellion against the fundamental laws of labor, 
suffering, and prayer, and therefore an abomina- 
tion in the sight of God. " Because thou art 
lukewarm, and neither hot, nor cold, I will be- 
gin to vomit thee out of my mouth " {Apoc. 
iii. 16). 

A complete reconstniction of the spiritual 
edifice is necessary to cure a tepid soul : prayer, 
meditation, concentration, recollection, strenu- 
ous labor, patient endurance, detachment, a 
spirit of faith, fervor, frequent examination of 
conscience, seclusion, and the exercises of a re- 
treat alone can effect a cure. 



SELF-CASTIGATION OR PENANCE 113 

4. Fourth Cause for Penance — Participation in 
the Sins of Others, 

We may participate in the sins of others (1) 
by neglecting a reproof suggested by charity; 
(2) by not preventing the sins of others when 
our duty demands it; (3) by scandalizing others 
or offering them the occasion of sin; (4) by aid- 
ing them in the commission of sin; (5) by com- 
mitting sin with them; (6) and by tempting 
them or coercing them to sin. 

We incur the guilt of the sins of others, as 
well as the obligation of leading them to re- 
pentance in so far as we have participated in 
their sins. " It is impossible that scandals 
should not come : but woe to him through whom 
they come " {Luke xvii. 1). 

To guard against participating in the sins of 
others, we should bear in mind (1) that such 
conduct offends God most grievously; (2) that 
He will demand a strict account of our steward- 
ship; (3) and that those whom we have helped 
on the way to perdition will be our accusers on 
the day of the general reckoning. 

5. Fifth Cause for Penance — The Sins of the 
World. 

There are many sins committed that are not 
of our volition and which we cannot prevent. 



114 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

They offend God, wound the Sacred Heart of 
Jesus, and ruin countless souls. Zeal for the 
honor and glory of God should prompt us to 
regret them, to grieve over them, and thereby 
to make atonement to the outraged majesty and 
goodness of God. Our love for Jesus Christ 
should prompt us to offer Him sympathy and 
consolation, and to make reparation to His 
adorable Heart for the coldness, indifference, 
and malice of mankind. Finally, zeal for the 
salvation of souls and the brotherhood of man- 
kind should prompt us to desire the welfare of 
every human being, and to do all in our power 
to promote it by making satisfaction for the 
sins of the world. 

6. Sixth Cause for Penance — Imperfections, 

Imperfections are involuntary defects in the 
service of God, or material transgressions of 
His holy law committed without advertence of 
the mind or consent of the will. As imper- 
fections are committed without malice or guilt, 
they are not matter for confession. As defects 
in God's service they are matter for self-ex- 
amination and correction, for spiritual direc- 
tion, and for voluntary penance and mortifica- 
tion. The teaching of St. John of the Cross, 
that every imperfection is a tendency to one of 



SELF-CASTIGATION OR PENANCE 115 

the capital sins, should prompt us to redouble 
our vigilance in discovering, and our efforts in 
overcoming them. To further our spiritual 
progress, let us verify this statement of the saint. 

a. Imperfections Inclining to Pride. Pride 
is inordinate self-esteem. The imperfections 
that tend to foster pride are: (1) to attribute a 
feeling of devotion to our efforts; (2) to desire 
to be considered more perfect than those who 
experience no sensible devotion; (3) to perform 
acts of devotion to attract the attention of oth- 
ers; (4) to incline to censure others; (5) to at- 
tempt to direct the superiors and the confessor 
in discharging their duties. 

Inclinations to pride may be overcome by 
vigilance, and by voluntary acts of humiliation 
and mortification. 

&. Imperfections Inclining to Avarice. 
Avarice is an inordinate solicitude for created 
things. It may be carnal or spiritual. The 
imperfections tending to carnal avarice are: (1) 
an inordinate desire of material things; (2) 
seeking them for their ov\^n sake; (3) hating to 
part with them; (4) centering our affections on 
them. 

The imperfections tending to spiritual avarice 
are: (1) a desire for an abundance of grace and 
extraordinary favors with which we will not or 



116 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

can not co-operate; (2) overestimating articles 
of devotion and pious practices to the detriment 
of true piety and devotion; (3) to profess great 
sanctity while neglecting interior mortification. 

Being unworthy of God's favors we should 
( 1 ) use material things to supply our wants and 
to help our neighbor; (2) guard against all 
inordinate attachment to them; (3) humbly and 
gracefully accept the spiritual favors God gives 
us; (4) seek conversion of the heart and solid 
virtue; (5) perform our private and public de- 
votions according to the general practice; (6) 
cultivate a spirit of detachment in all things. 

c. Imperfections Inclining to Lust. Im- 
pure feelings may be aroused without any fault 
on our part, (1) by our corrupt nature; (2) by 
the devil; (3) by necessary associations with 
others, especially with persons of the opposite 
sex; (4) by innocent familiarity with virtuous 
persons; (5) by a sympathy between devotion 
of the heart and sensual inclinations in our pious 
exercises; (6) by too great or too vivid a fear 
of impurity itself. 

To spiritualize our inferior nature we should 
(1) guard against doing anything in the dis- 
charge of our duty that might unnecessarily 
arouse improper feelings ; (2) despise those that 
arise spontaneously, and not omit our duty to 



SELF-GASTIGATION OB PENAl^CE 117 

God, to our neighbor, or to ourselves on their 
account; (3) to abstain from all sentimentality, 
inordinate familiarity, and carnal friendship; 
(4) to redouble our prayers; (5) to seek to 
please God in all things and implicitly to trust 
in His help ; ( 6 ) in our mistrust of self not 
to picture particular temptations to our minds ; 
(7) to ground ourselves in humility; (8) to 
perform little acts of exterior mortification. 

do Imperfections Tending to Anger. We 
manifest a tendency to anger, (1) when through 
false zeal we grow impatient at the mistakes of 
others, or take delight in denouncing them; (2) 
when we grow impatient with ourselves on ac- 
count of our repeated faults and slow progress 
in virtue; (3) when we grow sad, discouraged, 
or impatient because God has seen fit to leave 
our souls dry, dark, and languid, without sensi- 
ble consolation. By such conduct we disgrace 
the spiritual life, scandalize others, and give 
ignorant persons reason to infer that sanctity 
is a mixture of haughtiness, temper, and effem- 
inacy. 

To counteract these tendencies we should (1) 
concentrate our attention on our duty, and bo 
patient but firm and persevering in our efforts 
to make progress; (2) pay no attention to the 
defects of others, and treat them with indulgence 



118 SELF'DEXIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

when brought to our notice; (3) place our trust 
in God and mate ourselves worthy of His favors 
by humility, prayer, mortification, and honest 
effort; (4) be alert to suppress the first impulse 
to anger when we are specially prone to it; (5) 
seek the grace to do God's will and not heavenly 
consolations in our prayers. 

e. Imperfections Tending to Gluttony. 
The imperfections that tend to gluttony may 
be carnal or spiritual. Those of a carnal tend- 
ency manifest themselves (1) in the pleasure 
we might take in thinking of food and drink; 
(2) in speaking unnecessarily of it; (3) in 
wishing for it out of due season. 

Those which tend to spiritual gluttony are: 
(1) to desire spiritual consolations and favors 
rather than solid piety; (2) to follow one's own 
inclination in doing good rather than the will of 
God; (3) to forget one's own sinfulness and 
become too familiar with God; (4) to indulge 
in extraordinary works of penance for the de- 
lusive consolation they may afford. 

To counteract these tendencies to gluttony 
we should (1) seek to please God, and not to 
gratify ourselves; (2) be indifferent to all but 
the holy will of God, and accept material and 
spiritual favors with humble gratitude; (3) 
above all mortify our will by cultivating obedi- 



SELF-CA8TIGATI0N OR PENANCE 119 

ence, purity of heart, and conformity to the 
divine will; (4) cultivate a special devotion to 
Christ crucified. 

/. Imperfections Tending to Envy. Envy 
is sadness at another's welfare in so far as this 
diminishes one's own excellence. Its tendencies 
are: (1) to feel hurt when others are praised 
or honored; (2) to minimize the reputation of 
others by disparaging remarks ; (3) to be pleased 
when the defects of others are made knoT\Ti; (4) 
to rejoice when such defects are criticized by 
others. 

To cure imperfections tending to envy we 
should (1) practise charity; (2) rejoice at the 
success of others ; (3) wish them well ; (4) extol 
their virtues; (5) praise them publicly when 
circumstances permit. 

g. Imperfections Tending to Sloth. Sloth 
is indifference in action. When sloth becomes 
habitual it is called tepidity or lukewarmness. 
A person may be physically infirm, or perform 
a slothful deed, and even commit a serious fault, 
without being in the dangerous state of tepidity. 
The tendencies to sloth are: (1) a facility in 
omitting or curtailing our spiritual exercises; 
(2) irreverence or voluntary distractions in 
them; (3) a want of recollection; (4) a want 
of practical faith in our daily actions. 



120 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

To remedy the imperfections tending to sloth 
we should (1) cultivate a spirit of recollection; 

(2) frequently strengthen our good resolution; 

(3) frequently purify our motives; (4) fre- 
quently renew our good intention; (5) cultivate 
a spirit of prayer. 

7. Castigation of Actual Sin — Sacramental 
Confession. 

Sacramental confession is the means insti- 
tuted by a merciful Saviour to reconcile repen- 
tant Christian sinners to God. When made 
with the proper dispositions a good sacramental 
confession cancels the effects of sin, and bestows 
the peace which the world can not give, (1) by 
removing the sinner's anxiety about the past; 
(2) by reconciling him to the heavenly Father 
in the present; (3) by giving him grace, hope, 
and opportunity to w^ork for heaven in the fu- 
ture. 

To impart this consolation the confession 
must be made with faith, hope, and integrity. 
Faith teaches (1) that this is the sacrament 
of God's mercy and reconciliation; (2) that the 
priest has the same power of forgiving sin which 
Jesus exercised while on earth; (3) that the 
words of absolution in a good confession impart 
forgiveness of sin and divine assurance of recon- 



SELF'CASTIQATION OB PENANCE 121 

ciliation. A good confession is made with hope 
(1) in the mercy of God, and (2) in the infinite 
merits of Jesus Christ. 

The integrity requisite for a good confession 
prescribes only (1) that mortal sins be con- 
fessed, and that by their proper name — this 
makes the confession clear ; (2) that as nearly as 
possible the number of times each mortal sin was 
committed, and the circumstances which change 
their nature, be stated — this makes the con- 
fession brief; (3) that the confession be made 
with advertence to the sinner's guilt, thereby 
making it humble; (4) finally, that the confes- 
sion be honestly made with the intention of com- 
municating this knowledge to the confessor, 
thereby making the confession sincere. 

Though there is no obligation of confessing i 

venial sins, it is advisable to do so (1) when a 
person has no mortal sin to confess; (2) when 
he is in doubt whether a sin is mortal or venial ; 
(3) whenever he is sorry for having committed 
the venial sin. 

When Satan beholds the saints in heaven who 
have escaped his slavery by making a good con- 
fession he is filled with rage. As he can not 
harm the souls that are already saved, he em- 
ploys every means his cunning can devise to 
keep souls on earth from deriving those benefits 



122 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

from the sacrament of Penance which Jesus in 
His mercy has destined for them. He is the 
hidden fiend who scoffs through ignorant men 
at the tribunal of penance. He is the insidious 
tempter who seeks to drive the repentant sinner 
to despair^ fills him with false shame, and har- 
asses him with groundless fears as soon as he 
resolves with the Prodigal to return, to his 
Pather. And he does this in spite of the fact 
that sacramental confession is more natural to 
the Christian soul than candor to a repentant 
child, in spite of the fact that mercy is more 
natural to a compassionate God than the kiss of 
forgiveness is to a loving mother. 

8. Castigation of the Guilty Mind — Detestation 
of Sin, 

When we commit sin we inconsiderately pre- 
fer a finite good to God, the infinite Good. If 
our sin is mortal our minds despise God to that 
extent that they judge that finite good worthy 
of being our god, and as such decree it to be 
the final object of our existence. If our sin is 
venial our minds scorn the friendship of God 
to the extent we gratify our self-love'. 

The human mind is naturally just, however. 
So when we reflect on our action and judge it 
dispassionately, we not only realize that we have 



^ELF-CASTIGATION OR PENANCE 123 

acted unjustly, but we proceed and condemn 
ourselves for having despised God, defiled our 
souls, and merited punishment. The more we 
ponder the effects of sin, the more do we begin 
to realize that it is the greatest evil in the world. 
And in proportion as we realize the great evil of 
sin in general, the more do we condemn our own 
sins in particular and detest them as an abom- 
ination in the sight of God, as firebrands from 
hell that alone can cause our temporal and 
eternal misery. 

9. Castigation of the Guiliy Will — Sorrow for 
Sin, 

The human will necessarily seeks what is 
good. Hence, as soon as it learns from the 
mind that it has chosen the greatest possible 
evil by committing sin, it is filled with grief. 
When considered in relation to the loss occa- 
sioned by sin, this grief is called remorse; 
when viewed as a pain we endure, it is called 
compunction; when viewed in its bearing on 
our sinful transgression, it is called penitence 
or repentance; and when viewed in its bearing 
on the future, it is called purpose of amend- 
ment. The motives which prompt us to regret 
our sin, fill us with aversion for it, and spur 
us on to penance and perseverance are : the fear 



124 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

of the torments of hell, the desire of heaven, 
and the love of God. These three motive pow- 
ers of the spiritual life are kept alive within 
us by frequent reflection on the eternal truths. 
Hence the Holy Ghost exhorts us : " In all 
thy works remember thy last end and thou shalt 
never sin'' (Ecclus. vii. 40). 

10. Castigation of the Oidlty Faculties — Purpose 
of Amendment, 

The grief of the soul for having offended 
God, when considered in its bearing on the fu- 
ture, that is^ as a purpose of amendment, em- 
braces a fivefold determination: (1) the gen- 
eral resolution to avoid evil and to do good; (2) 
to avoid at least every mortal sin, and every 
venial sin that we have just confessed; (3) to 
uproot any bad habit we may have contracted, 
and to guard against contracting it again; (4) 
to avoid the proximate, voluntary occasion of 
every mortal sin, as well as of those venial sins 
we have just confessed ; (5) to use the means of 
grace necessary to ensure fidelity to our deter- 
mination. 

We can ensure the stability of our purpose 
of amendment: (1) by mistrusting ourselves 
and placing our confidence in God; (2) by 
renewing it as often as we kneel in prayer; (3) 



SELF-CASTIGATION OR PENANCE 125 

by keeping the Christian ideal ever before our 
minds. 

11. Castigation of Sinful Man — Satisfaction, 

Even after the acts of repentance, conver- 
sion and purpose of amendment have been 
formed, certain external effects of sin may re- 
main. They consist in the wrong that was 
done by sin to God and to our neighbor. These 
may be removed by works of satisfaction. 
Works of satisfaction are of three kinds: re- 
paratory, vindictive or penitential, and medici- 
nal or precautionary. 

(1) Reparation is made to God by repair- 
ing His honor, and by making up for remissness 
in His service. Reparation is made to our 
neighbor by repairing the wrong done him 
through injustice, lies, detraction, and slander, 
and by treating him with kindness for any want 
of attention. 

(2) The vindictive or penitential works 
that satisfy for our sins are prayer, as atone- 
ment to God; fasting, as a castigation of our- 
selves; and alms-deeds as reparation to our 
neighbor. Prayer, fasting, and almsdeeds are 
here used in their widest application to the 
practice of religion, self-denial, and the works 
of mercy. 



126 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

(3) The medicinal or precautionary works 
of satisfaction are intended to protect ns against 
a lapse, or a relapse into sin. They are acts of 
self-denial that are usually called '^ Mortifica- 
tion." Their importance arises from the evi- 
dent truth that a prevention is better than a 
cure. 

12. Castigation of the Repentant Sinner — Actual 
Amendment, 

Amendment is the fruit of true repentance 
— '' By their fruits you shall know them." To 
bring forth fruit worthy of repentance we must 
reduce our purpose of repentance to practice. 
If like Peter we presumed on our own strength, 
like Peter we have learned by bitter experience 
to mistrust ourselves. To reduce our purpose 
of amendment to practice we must (1) con- 
tinually mistrust ourselves; (2) cultivate a 
boundless confidence in God; (3) use the op- 
portunity of the present to do violence to our- 
selves in avoiding sin and its occasions, in 
resisting temptation and conquering bad habits, 
and in doing good to repair the past, to secure 
ourselves in the present, and to make certain of 
our perseverance. 



SELF-CASTIGATION OR PENANCE 127 

13. Medicinal Castigation — Mortification. 

Mortification is the performance or endur- 
ance of anything repugnant to our natural in- 
clinations for the purpose of submitting our- 
selves to the influence of grace and doing God's 
holy will. When it places an external restraint 
upon us, mortification is called external or cor- 
poral; when it does violence to the faculties of 
the soul it is called interior or spiritual. 
When mortification takes place at our own dis- 
cretion it is called active; and when it consists 
in cheerfully enduring the trials sent or per- 
mitted by divine Providence it is called passive 
mortification. 

Corresponding to the three stages of the spir- 
itual life are three stages or degrees of Chris- 
tian mortification or self-denial. In the first 
stage the earthly pilgrim must deny himself 
to the extent of avoiding the voluntary, proxi- 
mate occasion, and of resisting temptation to 
mortal sin, but wastes much time, neglects much 
grace, and commits many venial sins. In the 
second stage he does as much violence to himself 
as is necessary to avoid deliberate venial sin. 
rinally, in the third stage the Christian dies 
perfectly to self and offers God a complete sac- 
rifice (1) by conquering even his imperfections ; 



128 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

(2) by using every moment of time; (3) by co- 
operating with every grace; (4) and by suffer- 
ing every trial in conformity with the divine 
will. 

The ignorant and the sensualist do not real- 
ize the importance of mortification. But in 
proportion as any one becomes Christlike will 
he also see that mortification (1) subjects man 
to the influence of grace; (2) makes him tri- 
umph over the flesh, the world, and the devil; 

(3) aids him in the practice of virtue; (4) en- 
sures his perseverance; (5) gives him spiritual 
peace and joy; (6) and unites him to God in 
all things. 

In the practice of mortification discretion is 
necessary to avoid the harm resulting from ex- 
tremes. In exterior mortification the extremes 
are reached (1) in a species of sensuality on 
the one hand, which denounces all voluntary 
external mortification, (2) and by an excessive 
rigorism on the other, which injures the body 
and paralyzes the energies of the soul. The 
neglect of voluntary interior mortification fos- 
ters inordinate self-love, and suffocates the love 
of God in our hearts. As long as interior mor- 
tification is well regulated there is no danger 
in going to extremes in its practice. As a safe- 
guard against imprudence and excessive rigor- 



SELF'CASTIGATION OR PENANCE 129 

isnij however^ austerities or extraordinary cor- 
poral mortifications should not be practised with- 
out the previous sanction of the spiritual di- 
rector. 

Prudence or discretion in the practice of vol- 
untary mortification prescribes (1) that no 
mortification should interfere with the perform- 
ance of our duty or the practice of virtue; (2) 
that mortification be always free from singu- 
larity; (3) that in interior mortification we 
begin by discovering, subjugating, and sanc- 
tifying our predominant passion; (4) that we 
anticipate the rebellion of our passions; (5) 
that we never lose sight of our pride and anger ; 
(6) that we be not content with a little prog- 
ress in interior mortification, but continue reso- 
lutely until we have gained a complete victory. 

14. Rigorous CasUgation — Austerities, 

Extraordinary corporal penances are called 
austerities. Austerities have always been prac- 
tised in the Catholic Church, and are pre- 
scribed to some extent in most of the Religious 
Orders, particularly in those whose special vo- 
cation is to atone with Christ for the sins of the 
world. 

Austerities consist: (1) in being content with 
the essentials in food, clothing, and accommoda- 



130 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

tions; (2) in the observance of continuous si- 
lence, abstinence, and fasting; (3) in keeping 
long vigils, in using hairsbirts, ciliciumSj and 
disciplines; (4) in performing the most menial 
work, and in spending long hours in prayer. 

Ordinarily it would be both presumptuous 
and rash to inflict penances so severe on 
ourselves. In fact, as Catholics we should at- 
tempt it only when (1) we have a special 
vocation to such a life; (2) after that vocation 
has been carefully investigated and positively 
sanctioned by our spiritual director. 

15. Our Spiritual Guide' — The Priest, 

The priest is specially called by God. He 
prepares himself by years of study, pra^^er, and 
self-discipline for his work of love and sacrifice. 
The priest becomes our spiritual father at the 
baptismal font, is devoted to us throughout our 
life, arad smooths our passage to a happy 
eternity. 

His personality may change, but the priest 
is ever (1) the ambassador of Christ, bringing 
a^ message of hope and love; (2) our mediator 
at the altar, offering God an acceptable sacri- 
fice; (3) the agent of God's mercy in the con- 
fessional, purifying our souls in the blood of 
the Lamb; (4) a heavenly almoner at all times, 



SUBJUGATION OF THE CARNAL MAN 131 

enriching ns with Christ's merits in the 
sacraments, and blessings of the Church; 
(5) a good shepherd, who has consecrated 
his life to our welfare; (6) our guardian an- 
gel in the flesh, ever ready to sympathize with 
us, to console us, to direct us, to guard and 
guide us to temporal and eternal union with 
God. 

More than the reverence, love, and obedience 
of children to their earthly parents should be 
our devotion to the priest, the pastor, the phy- 
sician of our souls. He, w^ho has renounced 
all earthly ties to become another Christ for 
our sake, merits our confidence, our loyalty, our 
gratitude, and our love. 

IV. SUBJUGATION OF THE CAENAL 

MAN. 

Our first duty in the practice of mortifica- 
tion is the subjugation of the carnal man. This 
we accomplish by assuming an attitude towards 
our environment which will be favorable for the 
development of virtue, and by acquiring those 
habits that, according to the teaching and ex- 
ample of our divine Model, must serve as the 
basis of the interior life. 



132 SELF'DE'SIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

1. Spirit of Retirement. 

" Go forth out of thy coimtrj^, and from thy 
kindred^ and out of thy father's house, and 
come into the land which I will show thee. 
And I will make thee great and bless thee and 
magnify thy name'' (Gen. xii. 1). 

These words the Almighty addressed to Abra- 
ham of old. He repeats them to every soul of 
good will. To be His devoted children we must 
withdraw at least in spirit from that world 
which is at enmity with God. We hearken to 
this invitation of the Lord by cultivating a 
spirit of retirement. This spirit consists (1) 
in being indifferent to the follies of the world ; 
(2) in shunning notoriety; (3) in appearing 
in public only when actuated by some good rea- 
son. '' God forbid that I should glory, save 
in the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ ; by whom 
the world is crucified unto me" (Gal. vi, 14). 

2. Plain Dwelling. 

'' I have chosen to be an abject in the house 
of God, rather than dwell in the tabernacles of 
sinners" (Ps. Ixxxiii. 11). To cultivate a 
spirit of retirement we must banish the spirit of 
the world from our homes. The greatest slaves 
of the world make their dwellings places of lux- 



SUBJUGATION OF THE CARNAL MAN 133 

ury and cultivate a haughty reserve in their 
conduct. A true child of God, however, mani- 
fests his indifference to the follies of the world 
as well as his spirit of faith in the erection and 
furnishing of his earthly dwelling without vio- 
lating the canons of taste or sacrificing his sta- 
tion in life. He manifests his simple, Chris- 
tian taste especially in decorating his home 
with the images of his crucified Master, of the 
Virgin Mother, and of the saints, and thus he 
hopes, after dwelling in intimate union with 
them on earth, to be found worthy one day to 
dwell with them in the mansions of heaven. 

3. Modest Dress, 

The Scriptures tell us that our first parents 
invented clothing to cover their nakedness. In 
our day clothing is often a necessary protection 
against the inclemency of the weather. But 
the fashions of dress are indicative of Christian 
modesty, or of a worldly spirit. For this rea- 
son St. Paul wrote: ^^ Let your modesty be 
known to all men'' (Phil, iv. 5). For the 
same reasons the world makes use of clothes to 
gratify its desire of luxury and thereby se- 
duces many thoughtless souls. 

As children of God we must therefore (1) re- 
member that our clothes should indicate our 



134 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

Christian modesty; (2) dress according to our 
station in life; (3) prefer utility and modesty 
in dress to style or fashion; (4) and guard 
against taking scandal from the immodest cloth- 
ing of the slaves of the world — '' There is a 
shame that bringeth glory and grace " (Eccles. 
iv. 25). 

4. Plain Fare, 

The world deifies the flesh and worships it by 
ministering to its cravings. According to St. 
Paul those are the slaves of the world, '' whose 
end is destruction; whose God is their belly; 
and whose glory is in their shame, who mind 
earthly things" (Phil. iii. 19). We must in- 
deed eat to live, but we should not live to eat. 
The slaves of the world gratify their vanity 
and pervert their taste by serving costly viands, 
and they degrade themselves and court sick- 
ness and death by intemperance in eating and 
drinking. Plain fare on the other hand is more 
nutritious, more easily digested, and more con- 
ducive to health, happiness, and a ripe old age. 

5. Simplicity. 

" The simplicity of the just shall guide 
them" (Proi\ xi. 3). Simplicity is that fidel- 
ity to truth which abhors all duplicity and de- 



SUBJUGATION^ OF TEE CARNAL MAN 135 

ception. Truth is from God, deception from 
Satan. Hence the Saviour says : " Let your 
speech be yea, yea; no, no: and that which is 
over and above this is of evil " (Matt. v. 37). 

Simplicity in thought, word, and deed makes 
us (1) humble in our own estimation; (2) 
pleasing in the sight of God; (3) honorable 
among men; (4) confiding in God; (5) and 
generous towards our neighbor. 

6. Cheerfulness. 

Cheerfulness is the disposition of looking on 
the bright side of life. It manifests itself in 
looks, words, and actions that have a soothing 
influence on all present. Cheerfulness results 
from a conscientious performance of duty, 
united to a strong trust in divine Providence. 

Cheerfulness has a tendency to lighten our 
burdens, to sweeten our sorrows, and to give us 
a relish for labor, endurance, and prayer. It 
disposes us to be generous with God, indulgent 
with our neighbor, and forgetful of ourselves. 
No wonder, then, that the Scripture says: 
"God loveth a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. ix. 7.) 

7. Habit of Industry. 

A habit of industry is a disposition for work. 
Labor is life's first law. " If any man will not 



136 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

work, neither let him eat" (2 Thess. iii. 10). 
A habit of industry is conducive to happiness 
(1) by giving us an object in life; (2) by com- 
pelling us to take exercise, which is necessary 
for the preservation of health ; (3) by supplying 
diversion for the mind; (4) by giving us profit- 
able occupation for our time; (5) by imparting 
a relish to our recreation; (6) by insuring rest 
in our repose; (7) by keeping us from vice ; (8) 
by disposing us to help a neighbor in need. A 
habit of industry is likewise essential to suc- 
cess. It (1) teaches concentration of our en- 
ergies; (2) imparts method to our procedure, 
(3) and insures perseverance in our efforts. 

Finally, a habit of industry disposes us for a 
Christian life (1) by teaching us self -disci- 
pline; (2) by giving us the mastery over our- 
selves; (3) and by grounding us in natural vir- 
tue. 

8. Patient Endurance. 

It is impossible to escape all suffering in this 
valley of tears. Our only choice in the matter 
is between the patient endurance of the suft'er- 
ings Providence sends us, or the enforced en- 
durance of the greater sufferings of our own 
choice. 

Patient endurance of the sufferings of life 



1 



SUBJUGATION OF THE CARNAL MAN 137 

(1) gives stability of character; (2) grounds us 
in self-knowledge; (3) dispels delusions; (4) 
detaches us from things of earth; (5) broadens 
our sympathies for struggling mankind; (6) 
disposes us for the grace of God; (7) and leads 
to solid virtue and true spiritual progress. 

Patient endurance in the trials of life is fa- 
cilitated (1) by not v^asting our energies about 
the past; (2) by not worrying about the future; 

(3) by not magnifying our present trials; (4) 
by recalling the sufferings of Christ and His 
saints; (5) by cultivating conformity to the 
holy will of God. 

9. Avoidance of Singularity. 

Singularity is affectation in practical life. 
As humility produces simplicity, so pride be- 
gets singularity. Singularity is primarily a 
vice of the interior, but manifests itself exteri- 
orly in various ways. According to its par- 
ticular tendency it poses (1) in the seriousness 
of the magistrate; (2) in the science of the 
learned; (3) in the independence of the rich; 

(4) and even in the humility and devotion of a 
Christian soul. Singularity (1) gives a false 
view of the minor affairs of life; (2) pursues 
fancies instead of acquiring solid virtue; (3) 
multiplies one's cares; (4) and imparts the im- 



13S SELF-DEXIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATIOy 

pression that those who practise it are not quite 
sound of mind. 

The remedy for singularity is " to put off 
the old man, and put on the new man, who is 
created in justice, holiness, and truth '' {Eph. 
iv. 22). 

10. Home Life, 

Home life consists of our conduct in the fam- 
ily circle. The qualities that contribute to its 
happiness are sinc-erity, charity, cheerfulness, 
cordiality, patience, and a spirit of sacrifice. 

There is a profound attachment in every heart 
for that sacred spot we call Home. It is en- 
shrined in the fondest memories of our earlier 
days. Though the lapse of time may have 
changed our abode, our home is always the place 
where those dwell whom we love and trust, our 
safe retreat from an unsympathetic world, the 
reward of our labor and sacrifice, and the natu- 
ral source of our energy and strength. 

In the struggle and conflict of daily life we 
may be forced to put on an exterior reserve and 
retire into our inner selves to preserve peace 
of mind and heart. But at home, if our in- 
terior be unselfish, we may safely lay aside all 
reserve and enjoy the peace of security and fa- 
miliar intercourse with our own. 



SUBJUGATION OF THE CARNAL MAN 139 

11. Recreation. 

Recreation is relaxation after the strain and 
strife of duty. It is necessary to relax and 
renew our energies from time to time, if we 
are to bear the burdens that await us. Three 
things may be remarked in regard to our recre- 
ations. 

(1) Recreation should be an innocent relax- 
ation, suited to our age and station in life. 
For some it may take the form of physical exer- 
cise, for others a social visit with friends may 
be more profitable, while a third class may find 
sufiicient recreation in a change of occupation. 

(2) To balance the mind recreation should 
be taken with moderation. Over-indulgence 
will dissipate instead of recreating our energies, 
while a want of recreation will make us dull 
and mechanical. 

(3) Congenial surroundings contribute 
very much to our recreation. Under normal 
circumstances the home is the best place for our 
recreations, though on special occasions we may 
take our recreation away from home without 
injuring home life. 

12. Care of Health. 

Life and health are gifts of God. In be- 
stowing them upon us He also imposed the obli- 



140 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

gation of caring for our health and thereby 
prolonging life. Both extremes should be 
avoided in fulfilling this obligation. " Be not 
solicitous therefore/^ warns the Saviour, " say- 
ing, What shall we eat : or, what shall we drink, 
or wherewith shall we be clothed ? " (Matt. 
vi. 31). 

On the other hand St. Paul says : " Know 
you not that you are the temples of God, and 
that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? But 
if any man violate the temple of God, him shall 
God destroy'' (1 Cor. iii. 16). We would 
manifest an inordinate care of health (1) by 
unnecessarily thinking, talking, and worrying 
about it; (2) by developing fads and eccen- 
tricities in caring for it; (3) by neglecting our 
duty on accoimt of it ; (4) by being more solici- 
tous about the body than about the soul. 

We would be wanting in the proper care of 
our health (1) if we did something positively 
to injure it; (2) if we did not use the ordinary 
means of preserving it; (3) if we wantonly ex- 
posed it to danger; (4) if we refused medical 
aid when sick. 

13. Friends. 

Friends are persons who cherish a mutual at- 
tachment and have one another's welfare at 



SUBJUGATION OF THE CARNAL MAN 141 

heart. Affability, cheerfulness, and integrity 
give our intercourse with acquaintances that 
flavor which enables us to make friends. 
Thinking of them with affection, trusting them 
cordially, and doing them a favor whenever the 
opportunity presents itself, enables us to cement 
the bonds of friendship. 

We should (1) be careful in the selection of 
our friends; (2) have but a few; (3) be faith- 
ful to them unto death; (4) gladly make their 
interest our own. Listen to the advice of Sa- 
cred Scripture : " Be at peace with many, but 
let one of a thousand be thy counselor. If 
thou wouldst get a friend, try him before thou 
takest him, and do not credit him easily. For 
there is a friend of his own occasion, and he 
will not abide in the day of trouble. And 
there is a friend that turneth to enmity; and 
there is a friend that will disclose hatred and 
strife and reproaches. And there is a friend 
a companion at thy table, and he will not abide 
in the day of distress. A friend if he continue 
steadfast, shall be to thee as thyself, and shall 
act with confidence in thy household. A faith- 
ful friend is a strong defense: and he that hath 
found him, hath found a treasure. Nothing 
can be compared to a faithful friend, and no 
weight of gold or silver is able to countervail 



142 SELF-DE^^IAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

the goodness of his fidelity. A faithful friend 
is the medicine of life and immortality; and 
they that fear the Lord shall find him. He 
that feareth God shall likewise have good friend- 
ship ; because according to him shall also his 
friend be" (Eccles. vi. 6-17). 

14. Catholic Spirit. 

A Catholic spirit makes us loyal children of 
God. This spirit is made of four things: (1) 
Catholic views, which harmonize not only with 
dogmatic teaching, but also with the opinions 
of our ecclesiastical superiors; (2) Catholic de- 
sires, desires for the glory of God, the welfare 
of His Church, and for the temporal and eter- 
nal happiness of mankind; (3) a Catholic in- 
stinct which identifies us so intimately with Je- 
sus Christ that it readily detects and abhors 
whatever is foreign to His spirit; (4) a Cath- 
olic life, a life actuated so completely by the 
teaching of the Catholic Church that it devoutly 
spends itself in the faithful discharge of its 
Christian duties. 

A Catholic spirit (1) makes us living, active 
members of Christ's mystical body on earth by 
identifying us with the congregation in which 
we live; (2) it gives us the true liberty and 
peace of children of God; (3) and it enables 



1 



SUBJUGATION OF THE CARNAL MAN 143 

US to exercise a most powerful influence for 
the good of the community. 

To acquire a Catholic spirit we must cul- 
tivate humility, docility, generosity, and fervor 
in the service of God. 

15. Intercourse with the World. 

On earth the children of God must have more 
or less intercourse with the people of the world. 
To guard them against injury and scandal in 
these dealings with mankind the Saviour gave 
His followers a practical rule of conduct when 
He said : '' Be ye wise as serpents and simple 
as doves" (Matt. x. 16). We must be wise 
or prudent without being crafty, and charitable 
without being foolish. To exercise this pru- 
dence we must avoid all rash judgments, words, 
and actions on the one hand, and on the other 
give no one our trust or confidence till they 
have shown themselves worthy of it. " Sepa- 
rate thyself from thy enemies, and take heed 
of thy friends" (Eccles. vi. 13). We are 
simple as doves when (1) we do nothing in 
look, word, or deed to deceive our neighbor; 
(2) when we edify him by our self-possession, 
and by the integrity of our speech and deport- 
ment; (3) and especially by our forebearance 
and Christian charity. 



144 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

To avoid the dissipation of the world we 
should therefore (1) not appear among the 
people of the world without a reason; (2) guard 
against the principles, maxims, standards, and 
motives of the world; (3) guard against injur- 
ing others in any way; (4) let the light of our 
good example shine in the darkness of the world ; 

(5) avail ourselves of every opportunity of 
converting the Avorld to Jesus Christ. 

16. Christian Charity. 

Christian charity is that divine virtue 
whereby we love God above all things and our 
neighbor as ourselves for the love of God. The 
infallible test of Christian charity is our charity 
towards our neighbor. The noblest acts of 
fraternal charity are summed up in the Seven 
Corporal, and the Seven Spiritual Works of 
Mercy. 

The Corporal Works of Mercy are: (1) to 
feed the hungry; (2) to give drink to the 
thirsty; (3) to clothe the naked; (4) to ran- 
som the captive; (5) to harbor the harborless; 

(6) to visit the sick; (7) to bury the dead. 
The Spiritual Works of Mercy are: (1) to 

admonish the sinner; (2) to instruct the igno- 
rant; (3) to counsel the doubtful; (4) to com- 
fort the sorrowful; (5) to bear wrongs pa- 



SUBJUGATION OF THE CARNAL MAN 145 

tiently; (6) to forgive all injuries; (7) to pray 
for the living and the dead. 

St. Thomas calls mercy the greatest of the 
moral virtues. And our divine Saviour Him- 
self declares that at the general judgment 
He will pronounce sentence upon mankind 
according to the works of mercy they have 
performed. 

'^ Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to 
one of these my least brethren, you did it to 
me'' (Matt xxv. 40). Hence St. Paul, so 
zealous in the cause of his Master, exhorted his 
converts : ^^ Put ye on therefore, as the elect 
of God, holy and beloved, the bowels of mercy '' 
(Col in. 12). 

17. Patriotism. 

Patriotism is love for one's native or adopted 
country. It was implanted in the human heart 
by God when He made man a social being. 

Patriotism manifests itself (1) in an 
esteem of one's country; (2) in attachment to 
it; (3) in the observance of its just laws; (4) 
in furthering the general welfare by one's in- 
fluence, especially by a conscientious use of the 
ballot; (6) in serving one's country faithfully; 
(7) and in dying for one's country if circum- 
stances require it. 



146 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

V. SUBJUGATION OF THE EXTEENAL 

SENSES. 

By following tlieir senses instead of regulat- 
ing their conduct according to the word of God, 
our first parents lost happiness and brought sin 
and misery into the world. In consequence of 
their sensuality human nature inclines to evil, 
the world allures to sin, and Satan has gro^vn 
astute in tempting mankind. 

Before us stand the tree of life and the tree 
of the knowledge of good and evil. The spirit 
inclines to the former, the flesh to the latter. 
As we obtain knowledge primarily through the 
senses, St. Augustine aptly calls them " the 
doors by which life and death enter the soul.'' 
If we do not wish death to enter our souls 
through the senses we must keep them so com- 
pletely under the control of reason enlightened 
by faith that we can turn them instinctively 
from any unforeseen danger and concentrate 
them on what is conducive to life eternal. 

This subjugation of the senses, says Thomas 
a Kempis, purifies the heart, gives peace to the 
soul, and inclines the will to devotion. By 
subjugating our senses in a Christian spirit 
we offer them as holocausts to the Lord on the 
altar of repentant and purified love. 



SUBJUGATION OF EXTERNAL SENSES 147 

1. Custody of the Eyes, 

The most numerous and the most lasting im- 
pressions made on the soul usually enter through 
the sense of sight. To cultivate purity of heart 
it will therefore be necessary to exercise 
specially custody of the eyes. Without doing 
anything extravagant or ridiculous this can 
easily be accomplished by those who keep the 
Christian ideal constantly before their minds 
and are determined to attain it in their daily 
lives. In all things let them (1) act from 
principle and guard against natural impulse; 
(2) watch and pray that they may enjoy the 
special protection of Divine Providence; (3) 
conquer fickleness of heart by cultivating a 
tender conscience; (4) not fix their gaze on a 
person of the opposite sex that might easily in- 
cite them to impure thoughts or desires; (5) 
avoid suggestive books, pictures, and plays; (6) 
guard against idle curiosity; (7) and by the 
contemplation of the beauties of nature learn 
to raise their minds and hearts to God. 

2. Custody of the Ears. 

Countless souls have been harmed by listen- 
ing with pleasure to the vanities and wicked- 
ness of the world. If we do not wish to be 



148 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

imbued with false principles and desire to pre- 
serve our hearts undefiled, we must turn away 
from (1) all irreligious and immodest con- 
versation; (2) from all uncharitable remarks 
and criticism; (3) from all idle gossip, es- 
pecially wdth persons of the opposite sex; (4) 
and from all sensational rumors and idle re- 
ports. 

Let us rather treasure these sayings of the 
saints: (1) Turn instantly from the immodest 
tongue lest it defile you (St. Gregory Nazian- 
zen). (2) Four things are becoming to the 
listener: to listen patiently, to weigh wisely, 
to report the good, and to forget the rest (St, 
Thomas). (3) The more you relish spiritual 
things, the easier will you escape the poison of 
an evil tongue. (4) Three things defile the 
hearing: boastful words, detracting remarks, 
and vain flattery (St. Anthony). (5) What- 
ever pertains to the salvation of our souls should 
be willingly heard, devoutly received, and 
carefully preserved (St. Bernard). 

3. Custody of the Sense of Smell. 

The use of perfumes is unbecoming to devout 
souls. When habitually indulged in it tends 
to moral effeminacy. Hence St. Bonaventure 
exhorts his readers to dispense with the per- 



SUBJUGATION OF EXTERNAL SENSES 149 

fumes of earth, and to fill their lives with the 
fragrance of virtue, that they may abound in 
the dew of heavenly grace, in the scented air of 
holy aspirations, and in the burning fire of 
divine charity. By exhaling the odor of virtue 
in their private lives the children of God will 
counteract evil, be an incentive to good, and give 
glory to God. 

4. Custody of the Taste. 

An unmortified taste is most pernicious, 
especially in this age of materialism and sen- 
suality. Two evils result from a want of mor- 
tifying the taste: (1) the vices of gluttony and 
intemperance; (2) and a perversion of the 
sense of taste and of the craving for nourish- 
ment. According to St. Gregory the Great we 
may be intemperate in eating and drinking in 
five ways: (1) by eating or drinking out of 
season; (2) by desiring expensive food or 
drink; (3) by desiring things prepared with 
great care; (4) by too great eagerness in eat- 
ing or drinking; (5) by an inordinate use of 
food or drink. 

To exercise custody over the taste we should 
(1) be indifferent to food and drink, and take 
what is placed before us; (2) not take nour- 
ishment out of meal-time without necessity; (3) 



150 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

take nourishment to strengthen our bodies and 
not merely to gratify the palate; (4) always 
observe moderation in eating and drinking; (5) 
when at table always deny ourselves something 
for the love of God. 

5. Custody of the Sense of Touch, 
The sense of touch is not easily kept under 
the control of reason (1) because it seems so 
harmless that often not sufficient attention is 
paid to it; (2) it covers the entire body and is 
not easily subjugated; (3) it easily excites im- 
pure feelings. 

To subjugate the sense of touch we must 
avoid whatever enervates it. Hence the saintsi 
advise us : (1) to live a simple life ; (2) to wear 
plain clothes; (3) to sleep on a hard bed; (4) 
to cultivate habits of industry; (5) to sufier 
the inclemency of the weather patiently; (6) 
never to pamper the body; (7) to avoid all un- 
necessary physical contact with others; (8) to 
be modest with ourselves; (9) to practise some 
austerity wdth the advice of our director. 

6. Custody of the Tongue. 

Though the tongue is not a sense it is ap- 
propriately treated here as the organ of speech. 
God gave us the gift of speech to worship Him, 
and to communicate with our neighbor in a 



SUBJUGATION OF INTERNAL SENSES 151 

Christian manner. A right use of the tongue 
is made (1) in honoring God by prayer and di- 
vine praise; (2) in communicating with a 
neighbor in justice and kindness on business, 
social, and charitable affairs; (3) especially by 
consoling the unfortunate, in speaking well of 
all, in conversing on edifying subjects. But 
a wrong use of the tongue is made by all irrev- 
erent, disrespectful, uncharitable, and indeli- 
cate remarks. 

We exercise a custody over the tongue (1) 
by always thinking well of all; (2) by always 
wishing well to all; (3) by repressing all im- 
petuosity to speak; (4) by weighing what we 
are about to say, so that we speak in season and 
offend not against modesty, charity, justice, or 
truth. St. Alphonsus exhorts us to speak with 
simplicity, humility, moderation, and modesty. 
And the Psalmist prayed the Lord " to set a 
watch before his mouth ; and a door around his 
lips that his heart incline not to evil words '' 
(Ps. cxl. 3). 

VI. SUBJUGATION OF THE INTEENAL 

SENSES. 
1. Controlling the Central Sense, 
The central sense makes us conscious of the 
operations of the external senses. Its subju- 



152 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

gation consists in guarding against the two 
extremes of sense-consciousness, lethargy, and 
sensitiveness. A good will ought to turn in- 
stantly from any dangerous impression on the 
one hand, and, by distinguishing between im- 
pression and consent, have no grounds for vain 
fears on the other hand. We should turn as 
promptly from moral evil as we instinctively 
recoil from physical pain; but over-sensitive- 
ness is founded neither on reason nor on faith, 
and retards our progress by paralyzing our ener- 
.gies. 

2. Purifying the Imagination, 

The imagination receives and reproduces the 
impressions made on the external senses. 
Though the first impressions, called phantasms, 
are usually vague and indistinct, their repro- 
duction and elaboration may be brought out 
clearly by a reflex action of the will. The sub- 
jugation of the imagination consists in pre- 
serving and purifying it from all sinful and 
dangerous impressions. To attain this end we 
must guard against idle, dangerous, and sinful 
impressions, and try to forget the dangerous 
ones we have received. Hence we should (1) 
not permit the imagination to roam aimlessly; 
(2) not excite it uselessly; (3) not permit it 



SUBJUGATION OF INTERNAL SENSES 153 

to dwell too much on worldly things; (4) not 
over-indulge it even on indifferent subjects ; (5) 
not believe it too readily; (6) not blame it for 
our levity, impatience, or laziness; (7) but 
constrain it gently to become preoccupied with 
useful and devotional subjects. 

3. Restraining the Instinct. 

The instinct perceives what is conducive and 
what is harmful to animal life. It impels man, 
says St. Bernard, to seek his ease, his comfort, 
and especially his carnal gratification. The 
baser the passion it arouses, the more violent 
also is its impulse. 

To subdue the instinct we must (1) guard 
against impressions that may arouse wicked 
suggestions; (2) energetically subdue those we 
can not avoid; (3) guard against the gratifica- 
tion of idle curiosity; (4) deny ourselves in 
some things lawful; (5) strengthen ourselves 
by recollection and prayer; (6) obey our spir- 
itual director; (7) never grow discouraged in 
the conflict; (8) and never imagine ourselves 
immune from the assaults of the flesh. 

4. Purifying the Memory, 

The memory retains and identifies past im- 
pressions. The voluntary reproduction of 



154 SELF-DEyiAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 



n 



these impressions in man is called reminiscence, 
Avhile the retention and reproduction of past 

thoughts is the work of the mind. 

We subjugate the memory by purifying it 
of impressions that are dangerous to virtue, or 
that hamper us in concentrating our energies 
on elevating and useful things. To succeed we 
must (1) avoid sinful occasions and association; 
(2) not recall in too vivid a manner the mem- 
ory of past sins; (3) forget injuries received; 

(4) cultivate detachment from earthly things; 

(5) not dwell too frequently or too fondly on 
the pleasant recollections of life. 

To succeed we should (1) cherish the benefits 
of creation^ redemption, and sanctification ; (2) 
think of the wants of the Church and of the 
trials of the Holy Father ; (3) remember the sad 
condition of sinners, the poverty of the poor, 
and the suffering of the sick; (i) often recall 
our own humble origin, our obligations and in- 
fidelities, the shortness of life, the value of 
grace, the certainty of death and of judgment, 
the suffering of the souls in purgatory, the ter- 
rors of hell, and the beatitude of heaven. 

The benefits we derive from this subjugation 
of the memory are: (1) tranquillity and peace 
of heart: (2) purity of conscience; (3) free- 
dom from countless temptations: (4) the spe- 



SUBJUGATION OF SENSITIVE APPETITE 155 

cial protection of Divine Providence; (5) the 
inspiration of grace; (6) the special guidance 
of the Holy Ghost. 

VII. SUBJUGATION OF THE SENSITIVE 
APPETITE OE OF THE PASSIONS. 

The sensitive appetite is the faculty which 
tends tov^ards the good and from the evil dis- 
covered by the instinct. This inclination of 
the sensitive appetite is called feeling or pas- 
sion. St. Thomas enumerates eleven passions: 
love, hatred J desire, aversion, joy, sadness, hope, 
despair, courage, fear, and anger. Though in- 
different in themselves, the passions strongly 
tend to evil on acconnt of the corruption of 
human nature. When violently aroused they 
hamper the judgment of the mind and shackle 
the freedom of the will. When aroused and 
directed by a reflex action of the will, the pas- 
sions are called emotions. As such they pow- 
erfully second the efforts of the will for good 
and for evil. 

The passions are the battlefield on which the 
fiercest conflicts between the flesh and the spirit 
take place. '' Here/' says St. Augustine, " pride 
is opposed to humility, vain-glory to the fear of 
the Lord, hypocrisy to true devotion, contempt 



156 MLF'DBmAL OR ACTIVE PVRG ITtON 

to submission, envy to fraternal congratulation, 
hatred to love, detraction to fraternal correc- 
tion, anger to patience, impertinence to meek- 
ness, insult to satisfaction, a v^orldly spirit to 
spiritual joy, sloth to the practice of vir- 
tue, vagrancy to stability, despair to confidence 
in God, cupidity to contempt of the world, 
hardness of heart to mercy, fraud and theft to 
innocence of life, lies and deception to truth, 
intemperance to moderation, immoderate re- 
joicing to sorrow for sin, an unbridled tongue 
to discretion and silence, impurity to car- 
nal integrity, sensual desires to purity of 
heart, and worldly desires to the longing for 
heaven/' 

1. Love. 

As a passion love is complacency in what is 
pleasing to the senses. It prompts us to seek 
whatever is agreeable to the senses, to possess 
it, to enjoy it, and to make ourselves secure in 
its possession and fruition. To subjugate this 
carnal love we must (1) turn it from sinful ob- 
jects; (2) moderate it by the virtue of temper- 
ance; (3) center our affections more and more 
in God; (4) practise a holy indifference to 
earthly things; (5) and guard against excessive 
attachment to relatives and friends. 



SUBJUGATION OF SENSITIVE APPETITE 157 

2. Hatred. 

Hatred is a natural repugnance for every- 
tliing disagreeable to the senses. As children 
of God we may hate only what is absolutely 
evil, as sin, hell, Satan, and the reprobate. 
To conquer our repugnance for other things 
we should (1) watch over our antipathies, lest 
they develop into passion; (2) guard against 
blind zeal which might lead us to offend against 
charity by unjust criticism; (3) beware of 
discord in matters of mere opinion; (4) cure 
hatred by the antidote of Christian charity. 

3. Desire. 

The passion of desire is a longing of the sen- 
sitive appetite for an obtainable good. It may 
be kept in subjection (1) by having but few ma- 
terial wants; (2) by not desiring these inordi- 
nately; (3) by turning our desires to virtuous 
objects; (4) and especially by moderating 
them according to the will of God in all things. 
In fact, the more we seek the will of God in 
all things, the easier will we dispel the count- 
less vain fears that disquiet the human heart 
and fill it with disappointment. '' Cast thy 
care upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee '^ 
(Ps. liv. 23). 



158 SELF'DEXIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

4. Aversion, 

Aversion is the turning away of the sensitive 
appetite from whatever is repugnant to the 
senses. Christians should school themselves to 
turn instinctively from sin and its occasions 
and dangers, but courageously embrace what- 
ever is good for their souls, no matter how re- 
pugnant it may be to human nature. Hence 
we should (1) not be over-solicitous about our 
health, much less about our feelings; (2) shim 
the vanities of the world; (3) beware of injur- 
ing justice or charity on account of some incon- 
venience. 

5. Joy or Delight. 

The passion of joy or delight is fruition of 
something agreeable to the senses. To keep 
this passion in subjection we must (1) turn 
with decision from all unlawful enjoyment; (2) 
use things lawful with moderation; (3) prac- 
tise voluntary self-denial; (4) aim to content 
ourselves with what is necessary; (5) not in- 
dulge in haiTQless pleasures unbecoming our 
station in life. 

6. Sadness. 

As a passion sadness is an affliction and per- 
turbation of the sensitive appetite caused by a 



^ 



SUBJUGATION OF SENSITIVE APPETITE 159 

disagreeable impression on the senses. Sadness 
or sorrow has a depressing effect on the body, 
and exercises a paralyzing influence on the en- 
ergies of the soul. By showing us the empti- 
ness of earthly things, they exercise a chastening 
influence on our lives and dispose us for the 
grace of God. 

The natural remedies for sorrow or sadness 
are: (1) tears, as an outpouring of our sorrow; 
(2) a busy life to forget it; (3) self-restraint 
to control it; (4) delight in the agreeable things 
of life; (5) the sympathy of friends; (6) 
the contemplation of the truths of religion; (7) 
nourishment to counteract the depression of the 
physical powers. 

To moderate excessive sadness we should be- 
sides (1) pray and receive the sacraments; (2) 
make frequent acts of conformity to God's holy 
will; (3) purify our consciences; (4) try to 
possess our souls in patience. 

In conclusion let us recall a few sayings of 
the saints. Sorrow for sin is grief divine (St. 
Jerome). He easily conquers sorrow who has 
no love for earthly things (a Kempis). Do 
not seek motives to strengthen your sorrow but 
to dispel it (St. Gregory). A good conscience 
bears sorrow lightly (St. Isadore). Tears of 
contrition are messengers of joy (St. John 



160 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

Chrysostom). Occupation helps the sorrowful 
to forget their woes (St. Bonaventure). A 
servant of God should not appear with a sad 
countenance (St. Francis Assisi). As moths 
destroy a garment, so sadness injures the heart 
(St. Bernard). 

7. Hope. 

As a passion hope is a longing of the sensitive 
appetite for something difficult but possible to 
attain. Hope is begotten by love, derives its 
confidence from experience, is sustained by de- 
sire, and rewarded by enjoyment. To elevate 
the passion of hope to the supernatural plane 
we must (1) not be inordinately solicitous about 
^' what we shall eat ; or what we shall drink, or 
wherewith we shall be clothed '' (Matt vi. 31) ; 
(2) "seek the kingdom of God and His jus- 
tice " (Matt vi. 33) ; (3) " confide in the Lord 
rather than have confidence in man " (Ps. 
cxvii. 8) ; (4) center our affections in God; (5) 
look to God alone for appreciation and reward. 

8. Despair. 

Despair is the turning away of the sensitive 
appetite from a desirable object that is consid- 
ered unattainable. It is founded on desire, 
and opposed to hope. 



SUBJUGATION OF SENSITIVE APPETITE 161 

In persons of a phlegmatic temperament lazi- 
ness often passes for despair; in persons of a 
bilious temperament, sadness; in persons of a 
choleric temperament, impatience; and in per- 
sons of a nervous temperament, humiliation 
arising from previous failure. 

The passion of despair may be moderated 
(1) by indifference to human affairs; (2) by 
concentrating our affections on the treasures of 
grace; (3) by guarding against faint-hearted- 
ness; (4) by putting our trust in God; (5) by 
serving Him with a generous spirit. 

9. Courage. 

Courage is the passion which repels a serious* 
threatening evil. To spiritualize it we should 

(1) be courageous in conquering our faults; 

(2) govern our physical courage by Christian 
fortitude; (3) realize that we are under the 
protection of Providence; (4) trust to do our 
duty with His divine aid; (5) in difficult mat- 
ters we should not trust our o^vn judgment ; (6) 
in temptations to impurity courage consists in 
instant flight. 

10. Fear. 

Fear is the prostration of the sensitive appe- 
tite caused by a threatening evil. Fear mani- 



162 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

fests itself in six ways: (1) as laziness or fear 
of work; (2) as bashful deportment; (3) as 
evidence of a guilty conscience; (4) in won- 
der, when in the presence of overwhelming evil ; 
(5) in stupor, when in the presence of an ex- 
traordinary danger; (6) in agony at the sud- 
den and unexpected appearance of a great 
danger. 

Fear collects our energies for resistance and 
makes us conciliatory and cautious in adopting 
the proper means to attain our end. In mod- 
erating it we must (1) ever make the fear of 
the Lord outweigh the combined influence of 
human respect and mundane fear; (2) fear 
the greater evils most; (3) practise resignation 
to God's will; (4) trust in His never-failing 
aid; (5) never excuse ourselves from doing 
good under the pretext of humility; (6) guard 
against presumption and despair, and so walk 
steadfastly in the fear of the Lord. " The 
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom " 
(Prov. i. 7). 

11. Anger. 

Anger is a feeling of displeasure united to a 
desire for revenge. When the sensitive appe- 
tite is impressed by an evil, it either succumbs 



SUBJUGATION OF SENSITIVE APPETITE 163 

to it througli sadness, or it turns on the evil and 
retaliates by anger. Anger is a mixture of 
hatred of the evil inflicted, of sadness at its re- 
ception, and of desire and hope of conquering 
and punishing it. 

Anger may be aroused by anything that hum- 
bles our self-esteem, wounds our self-love, or 
thwarts our self-will. It may manifest itself 
as (1) indignation, which remains under the 
control of reason and easily subsides; (2) as 
animosity, which is cherished in the memory 
for a long time; (3) and as fury, which does 
not subside until it has taken revenge. 

To control anger it is above all necessary (1) 
to practise humility, because pride is always at 
the bottom of anger; (2) to resist the first im- 
pulse to anger; (3) to keep silence when pro- 
voked and resolve not to act on the spur of the 
moment; (4) to remember that often no injury 
or insult was intended; (5) to consider the ex- 
ample of Jesus; (6) to practise meekness; (Y) 
to think of the injury you do to yourself and the 
scandal you may give by anger; (8) to combine 
the motives of reason and faith by keeping si- 
lence when angry, by offering the injury to God 
and suffering it in patience. Then, thank God 
for the occasion of self-conquest and the vie- 



164 SELF-DEXIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

torj, and pray for the one who has injured 
YOU. ^^ Be not quickly angry; for anger rest- 
eth in the bosom of a fool" {Eccles. vii. 10). 

VIII. SUBJUGATIOX OF THE WILL. 

The will or rational appetite is the power of 
exercising dominion over our own actions. 
This dominion should be exercised according 
to the dictates of reason enlightened by faith. 
Unfortunately, it is too frequently influenced 
by passion in daily life. By the subjugation 
of the will we therefore mean constraining our- 
selves to act in accordance with Christian rea- 
son. 

All that has thus far been said on self-denial 
applies more or less to the will, which should 
govern all our actions. To enable it to do this 
we must detach it from riches, comforts, and 
pleasures, from inordinate attachment to rela- 
tives and friends, and from honors, self-esteem, 
and self-will. 

1. Detachment from Riches, 

'^ Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is 
the kingdom of heaven,'' Our Saviour declared 
in His sermon on the Mount. Xo matter what 
our vocation or station in life may be, we must 



SUBJUGATION OF THE WILL 165 

be poor in spirit, or detached from the things 
of the world, to have hope of life everlasting. 
The young man in the Gospel, who asked Jesus 
what he must do to attain life everlasting, was 
given to understand that a rich man " shall 
hardly enter the kingdom of heaven " (Matt. 
xix. 23). The things of earth are intended 
by God to serve us as stepping-stones on which 
to ascend to heaven. By cultivating attach- 
ment to them we become covetous and avari- 
cious, pervert the divine order, and give them 
the place of God in our hearts. As children 
of God we dare let nothing come between Him 
and ourselves. Hence the Saviour exhorts us, 
saying: ^^ Seek ye first the kingdom of God 
and His justice, and all these things shall be 
added unto you" (Matt. vi. 33). 

2. Detachment from Comforts. 

" The foxes have holes, and the birds of the 
air nests: but the Son of man hath not where 
to lay His head''( Matt. viii. 20). As pil- 
grims on our way to eternity we may enjoy the 
comforts of our station in life without forfeit- 
ing our claim to heaven. But to be attached 
to the comforts of life is not merely childish and 
enervating, but may be very sinful and even 
subversive of our temporal happiness. Attach- 



166 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

ments multiply our wants and cares and lead 
to bitter disappointments. 

3. Detachment from Pleasures, 

As worldly pleasures usually consist in the 
gratification of the senses, we must deny our- 
selves many of them and detach our hearts 
from all of them to be true followers of Jesus 
Christ. There are pleasures on earth that are 
divine, and should be the object of our solici- 
tude. To possess the truth, to do the right, 
to practise religion, to follow our vocation, to 
be at peace with God and man, and to do God's 
holy will, give a pleasure that is a foretaste of 
heaven. Even some pleasures arising from 
the gratification of the senses, as lawful recrea- 
tion and relaxation, are perfectly legitimate as 
long as we do not form an inordinate attachment 
to them. But to dissipate both time and en- 
ergy in the pursuit of pleasure is a deification 
of the carnal man and a foolish search for 
heaven on earth. 

4. Detachment from Relatives and Friends. 

Relatives and friends are bound to us by 
bonds which we should respect and cherish. 
But we are bound more intimately to God our 
Creator, Eedeemer, and Sanctifier, and so 



SUBJUGATION OF THE WILL 167 

should not permit love for relatives and friends 
to come between us and Him. Such love would 
be that inordinate attachment which Jesus con- 
demned when He said : " He that loveth fa- 
ther or mother more than Me is not worthy 
of Me'' (Matt. x. 37). 

5. Detachment from Honors, 

Honor is a tribute to excellence and a reward 
of virtue. There is an excellence of person, an 
excellence of appearance, an excellence of posi- 
tion, and an excellence of achievement. The ex- 
cellence of person is founded on birth, age, con- 
stitution, talent, and education of an individuaL 
The excellence of appearance is founded on 
physical charms, polished manners, and fine 
clothes; while the excellence of position rests 
on the prominence a person occupies in social, 
commercial, political, or religious affairs. 
Man's strongest personal claim to honor is the 
excellence of achievement, especially when at- 
tained under adverse circumstances, for the ex- 
cellence of person, of appearance, and of 
position result primarily from the gifts of 
Providence. 

Man may seek honor by doing things to win 
the applause of the world, or by seeking to please 
God in all things and referring all honor to 



168 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

Him. As Christians we must be detached 
from the honors of the world, not seek them, be 
indifferent to them, and refer them to God 
when thrnst upon us. If, then, we do great 
things to glorify God and benefit mankind, we 
may rest assured that God Himself will honor 
us by being our " reward exceeding great '^ 
(Gen. XV. 1). 

6. Detachment from 8 elf -Esteem. 

Self-esteem consists in paying tribute to our 
own excellence. In the natural order, and es- 
pecially in the order of grace, our excellence is 
primarily the work of God. We are His in- 
struments. Sin alone is our work, and, as sin 
degrades and brands us with infamy, we have 
no excellence independently of God, Unless 
we, therefore, say with St. Paul : " By the 
grace of God, I am what I am ^' (1 Cor. xv. 
10), we are robbing God when we pay tribute 
to our own excellenca If we esteem ourselves 
in our own mind, we are proud. If we mani- 
fest our pride in trivial things, we are vain ; 
if in serious affairs, we are ambitious of the ap- 
plause of the world. 

We should, indeed, esteem ourselves as the 
noblest creatures of God on earth, as the breth- 
ren of Christ and coheirs with Him to the king- 



SUBJUGATION OF THE WILL 169 

dom of heaven, and strive to make onrselves 
v^orthy of our sublime destiny. But every es- 
teem contrary to, or not subordinated to our 
Christian dignity is carnal, worldly, and sinful. 
Hence we must practise detachment from all 
inordinate self-esteem, before we can honestly 
say with the Apostle of the Gentiles, '' I can 
do all things in Him who strengtheneth me " 
(Phil. iv. 13). 

7. Detachment from Self-Love. 

Self-love is the affection man has for himself, 
though the term is more frequently applied to 
that inordinate love of self whereby he makes 
himself the object of his affections. It is in 
this latter sense that the masters of the spirit- 
ual life condemn self-love. We love ourselves 
rightly as long as we seek the will of God in all 
things. In proportion as we go beyond that 
we deify ourselves by putting ourselves before 
Gx>d. As Christians we must, therefore, prac- 
tise detachment from inordinate self-love. To 
stimulate us in this practice we shall call some 
of the sayings of the saints to mind. '' From 
self-love arise simulation, hardness of heart, 
infidelity, hypocrisy, singularity, idle compla- 
cency, disobedience, rebellion, contention, per- 
tinacity, and the like.'' (St. Dennis.) '' Self- 



170 SELF-DEXIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

love causes spiritual blindness." " He loves 
himself well who loves the works of God in him- 
self." (St. Prosper.) ''By tepidity the love 
of God and our neighbor is degraded into self- 
love." (Card. Hugo.) ^^ The love of God 
will increase in you in proportion as you de- 
crease self-love." (Blosius.) ^' Love yourself 
in God, for God, and to possess God, and you 
will kill self-love." (St. Augustine.) '^ He 
loves others inordinately who deceives others to 
hide his fault." (St. Augustine.) 

8. Detachment from Self-WilL 

Self-will is the inclination to do our own will. 
On account of the corruption of human nature 
self-will is usually opposed to the will of God 
and is defined as such by spiritual writers. As 
heaven is the reward for doing God's will, de- 
tachment is necessary for all. Children must 
renounce their will to obey their parents; citi- 
zens, to abide by the law of the land ; and Chris- 
tians, to become worthy brethren of Christ. 
Those, however, who seek perfection, must make 
the holy will of God their own in all things 
before they can say with Christ, " I do always 
the things that please Him" (John viii. 29). 
In fact, in proportion as we do God's will we 
work for heaven, and in proportion as we do 



SUBJUGATION OF THE MIND 171 

our own will we have onr reward in its gratifica- 
tion. '' Why have we fasted, and thou hast not 
regarded ; why have we humbled our souls, and 
thou hast not taken notice ? Behold, in the day 
of your fast your own will is found '' (Is. Iviii. 

3). _ 

The gratification of self-will (1) exposes us 
to delusions; (2) leads to disquietude; (3) is 
the greatest obstacle to perfection; (4) exposes 
us to the temptations of Satan; (5) and robs us 
of merit. 

Detachment from self-will, on the other hand, 
(1) enables us to find the will of God; (2) is 
the first step in the spiritual life; (3) is the 
rule of perfection; (4) gives peace and secur- 
ity; (5) transforms us into true Christians; 
(6) multiplies our merit; (7) and assures us 
of the reward of heaven. 

Let us, then, fulfil the law, obey our lawful 
superiors, be guided in doubtful affairs by our 
spiritual director, and practise indifference to 
all things but the holy will of God. 

IX. SUBeJUGATION OP THE MIND TO 
TRUTH. 

1. Removal of Ignorance. 

Ignorance is a w^ant of knowledge. It is al- 
ways a misfortune and often a fault. To re- 



172 SELF-DEXIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

move ignorance from our minds, we (1) must 
sincerely desire the truth, no matter how hu- 
miliating it may be, or how great a sacrifice it 
may demand of us; (2) we must seek it by 
systematic, persevering study; (3) we must 
pray to God for light and grace to dispel the 
darkness of our minds, to steady our mental 
vision, and to enable us to grasp the truth in 
all its details. 

2. Eemoval of Prejudice. 

Prejudice is a bias of the mind in favor of 
the similitude of a truth, or the rectitude of a 
judgTQent. It is caused by a misconception of 
truth, by passion, or by pervai'seness of the will. 
Prejudice is not only detrimental to fraternal 
charity and subversive of good government, but 
has also done much h-arm to souls by keeping 
them from embracing the true religion or from 
the practice of solid virtue. It is dispelled by 
rembving hs cause, that is, by dispelling error, 
by subjugating the passions, and by purifying 
the desires of the heart. 

3. E em-oval of Error, 

Error is a misapprehension of a truth or of 
its application. It may result from ignorance, 
prejudice, a defective judgment, or from per- 



SUBJUGATION OF THE MIND 173 

verted self-love. Positive error is worse than 
ignorance and more difficnlt to dispel. Posses- 
sing the appearance of truth, it easily lulls the 
mind into a false security, and, by flattering the 
passions, easily leads man to serious excess. 

An humble mistrust of the accuracy of our 
perception or judgment is the first step towards 
the removal of error. If, then, we have the 
good will to seek the truth in an impartial man- 
ner, and pray to God for light to see it and 
strength to bear it, we shall not only be freed 
from error but also rejoice in the possession of 
the truth. 

4. Cure of Spiritual Blindness, 

Spiritual blindness is darkness in the mind 
caused by infidelity to grace. As light is neces- 
sary for perception in the physical order, so 
grace is indispensable in the spiritual order. 
By infidelity to grace we turn away from God, 
the eternal Light, and live a selfish, worldly life 
that gradually becomes more and more envel- 
oped in spiritual darkness. 

As spiritual blindness is caused by a perverse 
will we must acquire the fear of the Lord, by 
meditating seriously on the eternal truths, to 
cure it. In proportion as the fear of the Lord 
softens our hearts and converts our wills, will 



174 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

our minds also reapproacli God, and, in the light 
of His grace, perceive the malice of our sins, 
the danger we were in of losing onr souls, as 
well as the infinite mercv of God towards us. 



5. Dismissal of False Principles. 

A fake principle is a rule of action founded 
on a misconception of the truth. Truth is ob- 
jective, eternal, and immutable. To view it 
correctly we must regard it in the light of faith, 
that is, from the true, eternal, immutable stand- 
point of almighty God. Every other view will 
give us a misconception of the truth. Hence to 
view it from the false, temporal, mutable stand- 
point of the flesh, the world, or the devil, gives 
us an unreal perspective of the truth, which 
begets error and prejudice in the mind. If, 
then, we generalize error or prejudice as funda- 
mental traths, or make them the basis of a rule 
of action, we form false principles. 

As the normal mind is influenced only by the 
evidence of truth, we mu5t first obtain a correct 
perception of the truth in question before we 
can reasonably dismiss a false principle. This 
correct percej^tion of the truth will force us to 
dismiss the false principle by dispelling the 
darkness or error and prejudice on which it 
rests. 



SUBJUGATION OF TEE MIND 175 

6. Restoration of the Mind. 

Eestoration of the mind consists in qualify- 
ing it for the perception and use of truth. This 
restoration is necessary to undo the effects of 
original and actual sin on the mind itself. 

These are five effects of sin on the human 
mind : 

(1) The perception of man's mental vision 
is obscured. Before sin came into the V70rld 
man could bask in the sunshine of God's truth. 
I^ow he must grope his v^ay through the mists 
of ignorance, prejudice, and error, guided 
mainly by the obscure light of faith. 

(2) The range of man's mental vision is 
narrowed. Before he v\^as defiled by sin, man 
enjoyed the full liberty of a child of God. 
K'ow, like a child at a keyhole or a fugitive in a 
cave, he can see only v^hat appears on his limited 
horizon. 

(3) The power of man's mental vision is 
weakened. Before the blight of sin descended 
upon him, man could penetrate hidden myster- 
ies, l^ow his vision is so poor that he can 
grasp only a few rudimentary truths after long 
and weary application. 

(4) The correctness of man's mental 
vision is impaired. Like an astigmatic eye in 



176 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

which the rays of light do not properly con- 
verge, the light of reason and the light of faith 
easily seem at variance to man since his nature 
was corrupted by sin. 

(5) Finally, the mind of man is often in- 
fluenced by self-love and self-will since it was 
weakened by sin. Before sin came into the 
world the mind ruled all man's actions. Now, 
like a weak ruler of rebellious subjects, it makes 
many a degrading compromise with the rebel- 
lious will spurred on by the passions. 

To restore his mind even partially man must 
purge himself of conceit and selfishness, pray 
humbly for divine gTiidance, and seriously con- 
centrate his energies on what is most essential 
to his calling. By persevering efforts he will 
learn enough to appreciate the light of faith. 
If he follows this with docility through this 
vale of tears, his sincerity will finally be re- 
warded by a complete restoration and illumi- 
nation of his mental vision in the splendor of the 
Beatific Vision. 

7. Curing FicTcleness. 

Fickleness is a tendency of the mind to flit 
from one subject to another mthout any defi- 
nite aim or intention. It results from a light- 
ness of mind and a freedom from care or re- 



SUBJUGATION OF THE MIND 177 

sponsibilitj, whicli is the outgrowth of a satis- 
fied selfish nature. If not remedied at an early 
stage by self-discipline and application it will 
crystallize into a shallow, selfish character. 

8. Remedying Curiosity, 

Curiosity is an inordinate tendency of the 
mind for novel and sensational information. 
It is the opposite of fickleness in application, 
but like it prompted rather by a perverse wiir% 
than by a longing of the mind for truth. Curi- 
osity can easily be converted into a spirit of 
study by turning the mind from sensational 
subjects and concentrating all its energy on 
necessary, useful, and elevating topics. 

9. Moderating Rashness. 

Rashness of mind is inordinate haste in the 
study of a truth, in pronouncing a judgment, 
or in the performance of an action. Undue 
haste in study is like bolting food without mas- 
tication, with similar pernicious effects. A 
rash judgment in addition usually offends 
against charity if not against justice, while a 
rash action is performed apparently with total 
oblivion or indifference to its injurious effects. 

By moderating our impetuosity sufficiently 
to study a subject thoroughly, both in its nature 



178 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

and application, we not only obtain a clear per- 
ception of it, but guard as well against defects 
in judgment and precipitation in action. 

10. Conquering Obstinacy. 

Obstinacy is an undue attachment to one's 
judgment or to one's mode of action. It is 
caused by narrow-mindedness and mental pride, 
and gives rise to rashness, harshness, and in- 
subordination. 

As this defect is evident to our associates be- 
fore we admit even its possibility, we usually 
will not try to conquer it before it has been 
brought home to us by bitter humiliation. If 
then at least we have the good will to admit our 
fault and emerge from our narrow selfishness, 
we may yet gain a decisive victory vover our- 
selves. 

X. SUBJUGATION OF , THE ] CEEATUEE 

TO THE CKEATOR — USE OF THE 

MEANS OF GRACE. 

All who sincerely desire to know and do God's 
will, both in regard to the choice of their voca- 
tion and the particular obligations of their state 
in life, have abundant means of grace to enable 
them to fulfil their part of the divine plan. 
For, not only does God wish the salvation of 



SUBJUGATION OF THE CREATURE 179 

all mankind, but He also does all He can, with- 
out depriving any one of his free-will, to bring 
all to life everlasting. God does not command 
impossibilities, says the Council of Trent, but 
by commanding admonishes both to do what we 
can and to pray for what we can not do: and 
then He will help us to do what we can not do 
of ourselves. 

The merits of the Saviour and the mercy of 
God are, indeed, infinite, but we must dispose 
ourselves for His grace, by entering the state in 
life to which He has called us and assuming 
its obligations, and then freely submit ourselves 
to His influence by faithful use of the means 
of grace, before God will help us to work out 
our salvation. 

As our souls vivify our bodies and enable 
them to act, so grace gives us spiritual life and 
enables us to practise every virtue. The means 
of obtaining grace, or freely submitting our- 
selves to God's influence is to cultivate an inti- 
mate union with Jesus Christ by prayer, the 
reception of the sacraments, participation in 
the Sacrifice of the Mass, pious use of the sacra- 
mentals, gaining indulgences, and cultivating 
pious practices approved by the Church. " I 
am the vine ; '' says Jesus, '' you are the 
branches : he that abideth in Me, and I in him. 



180 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

the same beareth mucli fruit: for without Me 
you can do nothing '' (John xv. 5). 

1. Prayer. 

Prayer is recourse to God for help. It al- 
ways includes three things: the raising of the 
mind to God, the presenting of a petition, and 
a reason for invoking the divine aid- 

We may raise our minds to God by an act of 
faith in His presence, or by imagining ourselves 
before His throne, or in the presence of Jesus 
or in the company of Mary, of the angels and . . 
saints. ■■ 

Our request for help may be expressed in the 
form of a simple petition, which begs for a 
definite grace; in the form of a supplication, 
which begs for help in general; or in the form 
of an obsecration, which states the reason why 
the request should be granted. Our reasons for 
venturing to present our petitions for help are 
the holiness, goodness, mercy, and promises of 
God, the merits and promises of Our Saviour, 
the intercessory power of the Blessed Virgin 
Mary and of the angels and saints, and the grati- 
tude we have shown God for favors received. 

According to St. Thomas piety and persever- 
ance must characterize our prayer. Piety 
teaches us to mistrust ourselves in all humility 



d 



SUBJUGATION OF THE CREATURE 181 

and place our confidence nnreservedly in God, 
while perseverance keeps us praying for grace 
after grace until we finally receive the grace of 
perseverance, the grace of a holy death, and the 
croAvning grace of the Beatific Vision. 

Taken in this general sense of asking God's 
help, prayer is the universal means of submit- 
ting ourselves to the divine influence and of 
uniting ourselves to Jesus Christ. As such it 
is absolutely necessary for salvation. This 
truth is brought home to us very forcibly by St. 
Alphonsus, the Doctor of Prayer, when he says : 
'' Tie that prays shall be saved : he that neglects 
prayer shall be lost.'' 

a. Vocal Prayer. Vocal prayer is prayer 
expressed in words. Though no definite for- 
mula is necessary for vocal prayer, it is advis- 
able to use the prayers approved by the Church 
to safeguard the piety of our prayer. Without 
piety, that is mistrust of self and confidence in 
God, the most profound sentiments that man 
could express would be emptiness if not arro- 
gance in the sight of God. 

The vocal prayers most essential to Catholic 
life are the Lord's Prayer, the Angelical Salu- 
tation, the Doxology, and the Acts of Faith, 
Hope, Charity, and Contrition. 

Ejaculatory prayer is an efficacious means of 



182 8ELF'DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

invoking the divine aid in time of temptation, 
and of cultivating the habit of prayer during 
the busy hours of the day. It consists in fer- 
vently invoking the holy names of Jesus and 
Mary, or in making other pious aspirations that 
keep us united to God. 

The liturgical prayers of the Church are those 
recited by the clergy in the name of all the 
mystical members of Christ. They are found 
in the breviary, the missal and other official 
books of the Church. 

b. Mental Prayer. Mental prayer is prayer 
of the mind and will without external words. 
In a wide sense it embraces all religious 
thoughts, desires, affections, and aspirations 
that man may have through life, as the result of 
reading spiritual books, hearing sermons, and 
association with pious persons. As such it en- 
lightens the mind, disposes our hearts for the 
practice of virtue, and enables us to pray as we 
should. When understood in this sense, men- 
tal prayer is morally necessary for salvation, 
and indispensable to attain perfection. For on 
the one hand we can not realize our dangers 
without it, and on the other hand we will not 
make the necessary effort to please God without 
its stimulating influence. " With desolation is 
all the land made desolate : because there is no 



SUBJUGATION OF THE CREATURE 183 

one that considereth in the heart" (Jer. xii. 

11). 

When considered in a restricted sense mental 
prayer was called active contemplation by an- 
cient spiritual writers, but is usually called 
meditation in our day. Meditation is mental 
prayer reduced to a system. As such it con- 
sists of three things: (1) the introduction, a 
more or less formal appearance of the soul in 
the presence of God ; (2) the meditation proper ; 
(3) the conclusion, an humble and grateful 
withdrawal of the soul from the Divine Pres- 
ence. 

The meditation proper consists (1) in the 
acts of the mind contemplating a truth of re- 
ligion, preferably one of the eternal truths, or 
some phase of the life and suffering of our 
divine Saviour, and applying the same to our- 
selves; (2) in heartfelt affections and prayers 
which have been aroused by the considerations 
and applications; (3) and which naturally ter- 
minate in a practical resolution of the will. 

According to St. Alphonsus the affections and 
prayers are of the greatest importance. The 
affections we should elicit are especially acts of 
faith, of thanksgiving, of humility, of hope, of 
love, and of contrition. In our prayers or peti- 
tions we should seek light, humility, patience, 



184 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

fraternal charity, a good death and eternal sal- 
vation, but above all the love of God and holy 
perseverance. 

The resolution we should form should be (1) 
a general one to avoid evil and to do good ; (2) a 
particular one to avoid some special evil or 
danger, or to practise some particular virtue. 
Fidelity to the practice of meditation, says St. 
Thomas, produces peace of mind, contempt of 
the vorld, desire of heaven, patient endurance, 
liberty of spirit, spiritual sweetness, increase of 
the love of God, and a happiness which is the 
foretaste of heaven. 

c. Mixed Prayer, Mixed prayer is a union 
of vocal and mental prayer. Every vocal 
prayer may be made a mixed prayer with great 
profit to the soul by pausing at the words or 
sentiments that particularly appeal to us, to 
make appropriate affections. 

The most popular mixed prayer we possess, 
however, is the Eosary, which unites the recita- 
tion of the most precious vocal prayers with 
considerations on the principal events in the life 
of Our Lord and His blessed Mother. 

The Way of the Cross is another popular 
form of mixed prayer, which consists in the 
recitation of vocal prayers while meditating on 
the suffering and death of our divine Saviour. 



SUBJUGATION OF TEE CREATURE 185 

2. The Sacraments. 

Our divine Saviour instituted seven sacra- 
ments to give special grace. Two of these de- 
serve special mention here as sacraments which 
are frequently received. They are Penance 
and Holy Communion. 

As Penance is the sacrament of God's mercy, 
every Christian who enters the confessional 
with a contrite and humble heart, makes a good 
confession, and receives absolution, has the 
moral certainty of faith that his sins are for- 
given. And he receives, in addition to absolu- 
tion, reinstatement in his privileges as a child 
of God and heir to heaven and probably the re- 
covery of the merits he possessed at the time he 
committed mortal sin. 

Holy Communion is a most efficacious help 
to a devout and holy life. For in receiving 
Our Lord in the sacrament of His love we imite 
ourselves so intimately to Him, the source of 
life and strength, that we can easily avoid sin 
and its voluntary occasions, root the evil inclina- 
tions out of our hearts, and make progress in 
every virtue. In proportion, then, as we pre- 
pare ourselves devoutly for Holy Communion 
and devote a corresponding attention to our 
thanksgiving, we shall find the practice of frer 



1S6 SELF-DEXIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATIOy 
quent ConiiTi union most beneficial for our souls. 

3. The Sacrifice of the Mass. 

Holy Mass is the unbloody renewal, continua- 
tion, perpetuation, and application of the sacri- 
fice of Calvary. Here Jesus is ever " living to 
make intercession for us'' (Heh. vii. 25). On 
our altars is daily fulfilled the prophecy of Mal- 
achy: ''From the rising of the suxi even to 
the going dovm, My Xame is great, and in every 
place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to 
My name a clean oblation" (Mai. i. 11). By 
assisting devoutly at holy Mass vre participate 
in the sacrifice of the Xew Lavr, vre imite our- 
selves so intimately to Jesus^ our High Priest, 
that we can confidently ascend with Him to the 
very throne of God, and offer to the heavenly 
Father a more acceptable sacrifice of adoration, 
of thanksgiving, of reparation, and of prayer, 
than all the celestial hosts can offer, and we re- 
turn laden with all the blessings that flow from 
Calvary's heights. 

4. The Sacram-entals. 

The sacramentals are external acts of religion 
specially approved by the Church. The. most 
common among them are the use of the holy 
name of Jesus, the use of the sign of the cross, 



SUBJUGATION OF THE CREATURE 187 

and the use of blessed articles of devotion, such 
as lioly water, rosary beads, and the like. The 
sacramentals derive their special efficacy from 
the prayer of the universal Church, which is 
always acceptable to God. A devout use of 
sacramentals inclines us to the service of God, 
wards off the powers of darkness, and often is 
rewarded with material favors. 

5. Indulgences, 

To gain an indulgence we must say certain 
prayers or perform certain good works. Now, 
the Church has enriched all the prayers and 
good works that enter into a devout life with 
various indulgences. The desire to gain in- 
dulgences is, therefore, a twofold means of 
grace: (1) it applies the merits of the Saviour 
to us in the indulgence itself; (2) it is a great 
incentive to prayer and good works. Hence, as 
we must be free from mortal sin to gain a par- 
tial indulgence, and free from all voluntary 
attachment even for venial sin to gain a plenary 
indulgence, St. Alphonsus rightly says that the 
short cut to heaven is by way of indulgences. 

6. Pious Practices. 
All pious practices approved by the Church 
foster a spirit of prayer and devotion. Among 
those universally beneficial as means of grace 



188 SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION 

are attendance at daily Mass, frequent com- 
munion, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, the 
Way of the Cross, the recitation of the rosary, 
the wearing of the scapulars, and the wearing 
of a blessed medal and of a crucifix. 

The observance of the feasts and fasts of the 
year is no less a means of grace, than an indica- 
tion of living in harmony with Christ and His 
Church. 

Finally, devout membership in some religious 
society or confraternity can not be too urgently 
counseled as conducive to individual perfection 
and the edification of the community. 

7. Counsels on the Use of the Means of Grace. 

1. Earnest labor and patient endurance 
stimulate a healthy appetite both in the physi- 
cal and spiritual order. We must therefore 
make an honest effort in the spiritual life to 
have a relish for grace. If, then, we make use 
of the means of grace, God will surely aid us to 
do what we can not do of ourselves. 

2. As long as we are striving honestly to 
please God, we can not use the means of grace 
too freely ; neither need we fear exhausting the 
supply of grace, for it is infinite. 

3. If distractions crowd in upon us at times 
in spite of our attempt at recollection and de- 



SUBJUGATION OF TEE CREATURE 189 

votion, let us rest assured tliat God is satisfied 
with our honest efforts and will hear our prayer. 

4. Let us not look for sensible devotion in 
using the means of grace, much less discontinue 
our prayers and pious practices in consequence. 
Prayer is not supposed to be a selfish spiritual 
dissipation, but a cry to God for help. 

5. The monotony of prayer and devotion 
can easily be broken by earnest struggle in God's 
service. 

6. Weariness must be expected on the nar- 
row way ; but take courage, for we must crucify 
our natural selves before we become really spirit- 
ualized. 

7. Fidelity to grace at one time does not 
confirm us in grace for life. We must, there- 
fore, persevere in the use of the means of grace, 
if we hope to receive the grace of perseverance. 

8. In all our devotions we should pray for 
ourselves, our relatives, and friends, for our 
benefactors and our enemies, for the innocent 
and for sinners, for the Holy Father, the 
Church, and the clergy, and for the holy souls 
in purgatory. 



SECTIOX IV. 

TEE PRACTICE OF VIRTUE OR 
ACTIVE ILLUMIXATIOX. 

^ ' X F any man will come after Me let him deny 
J[ himself and take up his cross daily, and 
follow :!J;e '' (Luke ix, 23). 

Our Saviour not only invites us to deny our- 
selves, but also to take up our daily cross. As 
self-denial consists in triumphing over ourselves 
and the world by self-discipline and prayer, so 
taking up our cross consists in the practice of 
every Christian virtue. By self-denial we clear 
the ground, by prayer we accept the plan of 
God for our spiritual edifice and obtain His aid, 
and by the practice of virtue we co-operate with 
God in the work of our sanctification. 

Let us, therefore, consider the Practice of 
Virtue in General, and study the Theological 
Virtues and the Cardinal Virtues in detail. 

I. THE PEACTICE OF VIETUE IX 
CtEXEEAL. 

1. The Olject in Practising Virtue — Spiritual 
Growth. 

As a gardener, who has laboriously pre- 
pared the soil and planted the seed, tills his 

190 



VIRTUE IN GENERAL 191 

plants with great care that they may produce 
much fruit, so the Christian applies himself to 
the practice of virtue that he may grow in the 
spiritual life. 

Every supernatural virtue has a divine and 
a human element. The divine element is the 
grace of God, the human^ our co-operation with 
it. Grace is the efficient cause, the Christian's 
good will in the practice of virtue the proximate 
disposing cause of his spiritual progress. 

To practise virtue and grow in the spiritual 
life we must (1) prevent the weeds of vice from 
sprouting in the garden of our hearts ; (2) keep 
the soil pulverized by voluntary mortification; 
(3) nourish the plants of virtue by prayer and 
tears of penance; (4) work sedulously by avail- 
ing ourselves of every opportunity of doing 
faithfully the little good we can. 

2. The Motive in Practising Virtue — Hope of 
Reward, 

" Behold your reward is great in heaven " 
{Matt. vi. 23). God holds out the hope of 
reward to spur on the Christian in the practice 
of virtue. Time is short. Life passes like a 
vapor. We brought nothing with us into the 
world, and we shall take only our works with 
us into eternity. In this world there is nothing 



192 TEE PRACTICE OF YIETTE 

that can satiate the human heart. ^^ Vanity of 
vanities^ and all is vanity '' {Ecdes, i. 2). The 
Sa^4oiir therefore exhorts us to lay up " treas- 
ures in heaven; where neither the rust nor the 
moth doth consume, and where thieves do not 
break through nor steal" {Mait. vi. 20). We 
lay up treasures in heaven by the practice of vir- 
tue. There even the most trivial act of Chris- 
tian virtue will receive an eternal reward ac- 
cording to the assurance of the Saviour: '^ who- 
soever shall give a cup of cold water in my 
name shall not lose his reward '^ (MarJ: ix. -40). 

3. Order in the Practice of Tirtue, 

Order is essential to the success of every 
imdertaking. It is doubly necessary to make 
progi'ess in the spiritual life. On the one hand 
the virtues are numerous and varied, though 
intimately connected. On the other hand our 
energies are limited, even when at their best. 
By concentrating our energies on the principal 
virtues we make them the main supports of our 
spiritual edifice, and gradually complete it by 
the practice of all connecting virtues. By this 
concentration we make a right beginning, pur- 
sue an orderly course, and save ourselves from 
bewilderment and aimless work. Under such 
circumstances we mav reasonablv trust' that 



VIRTUE IN GENERAL 193 

with the lapse of time grace will hasten our 
spiritual progress. 

Of all the virtues in the spiritual life there 
are four, according to St. Bonaventure, that give 
vitality and permanence to the rest. '' Faith 
gives them life, charity educates them, prudence 
governs them, and humility preserves them." 

4. Signs of Progress in Virtue, 

On our pilgrimage to heaven we must be 
guided by faith and so can not measure our prog- 
ress in virtue with mathematical precision. 
Still, faith gives us both negative and positive 
signs of our progress. The negative signs are 
derived from our fidelity to the practice of self- 
denial, and the purity of heart we maintain. 
The positive signs of our progress in virtue are 
drawn (1) from the fervor with which we use 
the means of grace; (2) from the fidelity with 
which we perform our duties; (3) from the 
alacrity with which we seize an opportunity of 
doing good; (4) and from the facility we have 
acquired in the practice of virtue. 

5. Counsels on the Practice of Virtue. 

In the practice of virtue we should (1) be 
resigned to the dispensations of Providence in 
matters of health, talents, and trials of life; (2) 



194 THE PRACTICE OF VIRTUE 

be tolerant of the conduct of others, even as we 
Tvould have them be towards lis; (3) be patient 
with ourselves, for virtues are plants of slow 
gi'owth; (4) do the best we can and leave the 
success to Grod; (5) never weary of p3rforming 
our duty conscientiously, no matter what others 
may do ; (6) and rest assured that our real prog- 
ress will be an agreeable surprise, and our 
fidelity our greatest consolation in eternity. 

II. THE THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES. 

'' Xow there remain faith, hope, and charity, 
these three ; but the greatest of these is charity " 
(1 Car. xiii. 13). 

By uniting us directly to God each of the 
theological virtues exercises a fourfold influence 
in the spiritual life. Faith nourishes the mind, 
produces rectitude of life, prompts us in the 
service of God, and rewards us with eternal life. 
Hope imparts serenity of mind and gladness of 
heart, lightens our labors, and puts off old age. 
Charity prompts us to reverence God, to love our 
neighbor, to correct the erring, and to relieve 
the needy and the poor. 

'^ The three powerful weapons by which we 
are armed in the spiritual life,'' says St. An- 
thony, ^^ are the shield of faith, the helmet of 
hope, and the sword of charity." 



THE THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES 195 

1. Faith. 

^^ Go forth out of thy country, and from thy 
kindred, and out of thy father's house, and come 
into the land which I shall show thee " ( Gen. 
xii. 1). The words, which He spoke to Abra- 
ham of old, God addresses to every Christian 
soul by the virtue of faith. " Go forth from 
the world with its vanities and deception," He 
says to the soul, '' do violence to your pride and 
self-love, and come into the land of liberty and 
grace. I have something better in store for you 
than this life can offer. Both your cradle and 
your grave are in the vestibule of eternity. I 
have therefore implanted in your heart a long- 
ing for an endless possession of an infinite good, 
which I intend to satiate. ^ Give me thy heart. 
I will be thy reward exceeding great.' Here 
your choice is between poisonous pleasures or 
faithful service ; there between eternal misery or 
a life of glory. As you sow so shall you reap.'' 

Faith is defined as the virtue whereby we 
accept all that God has revealed and the Cath- 
olic Church teaches. By faith, then, we enter 
the land of divine truth, we serve a worthy 
Master, we are stimulated by the hope of a 
great reward. Relying on God's help, we are 
confident of success and look forward to the 
glory of the life to come. 

^The acts of faith are: (1) to believe all that 



196 THE PRACTICE OF VIRTUE 

God has revealed and the Catholic Chiirch 
teaches; (2) to profess this faith with our lips; 

(3) to confirm our profession with our works; 

(4) to make every sacrifice necessary, even to 
shed our blood for our faith; (5) to make the 
teaching of faith knowTi to others; (6) and to 
defend it against the attacks of an ignorant and 
vicious world. 

'^ To be the light, the ornament, and the 
strength of our lives, our faith should be 
founded on the bedrock of humility, firmly 
grasped by the mind, cherished by the heart, 
and resolutely practised by the will/' 

2. Hope. 

Hope is the virtue by which we trust to re- 
ceive life everlasting and the means necessary 
to attain it. " Hope,'' says St. Lawrence Jus- 
tinian, " is the column which sustains our spir- 
itual edifice." 

Otir hope at attaining eternal happiness rests 
primarily on the mercy, power and promises of 
God and the merits of our Saviour, secondarily 
on the intercessory power of the Blessed Virgin 
and of the angels and saints. 

The principal acts of hope are: (1) the de- 
vout performance of our daily prayers; (2) 
prompt recourse to God in temptation; (3) con- 



THE THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES 197 

fidence in God proportionate to the difficulties 
that confront ns; (4) interior aspirations in 
temptations; (5) invocation of the Mother of 
God and of the angels and saints; (6) resigna- 
tion to God's will while faithfully discharging 
our duties ; (7) serving God with greater fidelity 
to win His favor; (8) perseverance in prayer 
even though God seem not to hear us. 

Hope reacts on and strengthens our faith: 
(1) if we firmly resolve to expect everything 
necessary from the goodness of God; (2) if we 
are constant in our hope in time of adversity 
as well as in time of spiritual calm and sweet- 
ness; (3) if our trust in God is a ready and 
joyful one. 

3. Charity, 

Charity is the virtue by which we love God 
above all, and ourselves and our neighbor for 
the love of Him. It animates all the moral 
virtues and gives value to their actions. Hence 
St. Dionysius calls it the bond of perfection. 

The acts of the love of God are: (1) to de- 
light in the infinite goodness of God; (2) to 
wish God infinitely perfect; (3) to desire that 
He be glorified by all mankind; (4) to glorify 
God in all our works; (5) to exert ourselves to 
make God known and loved; (6) to grieve over 
our sins and the sins of the world; (7) to desire 



198 TEE PRACTICE OF VIRTUE 

perfection, consummation, and heaven; (S) to 
stimulate ourselves and others to greater love ; 
(9) to love our neighbor sincerely and to show 
this love in word and deed; (10) to speak of 
God with affection; (11) to converse with Him 
in prayer; (12) to seek to please Him even in 
the minutest things; (13) to endure joyfully 
all adversity for God's sake; (14) frequently 
to make acts of love; (15) to pray daily for an 
increase of charity; (16) to perform all our 
actions from the purest love of God; (17) to 
practise a special devotion to Jesus in the 
Blessed Sacrament; (IS) to be devoted to the 
interests of the Catholic Church. 

The effects of the love of God are: (1) it 
justifies us in the sight of God; (2) it estab- 
lishes a bond of friendship between us and God ; 
(3) it makes all our acts of Christian virtue 
meritorious for heaven; (4) it renders the yoke 
of the Lord sweet and His burden light. 

III. THE CAEDIXAL VIETrES. 

All the moral virtues are subordinated to the 
four principal ones which are called cardinal. 
These four are prudence, justice, temperance, 
and fortitude. Each teaches a fourfold lesson. 
Prudence teaches us to profit by the experience 
of the past, to adapt ourselves to the circum- 



TEE CARDINAL VIRTUES 199 

stances of the present, to provide for the future, 
and to pause sufficiently in perplexity to clear 
away our doubts. Justice leads us to weigh our 
judgments maturely, to live lives of integrity, 
to respect the rights of others, and to render to 
every one his due. Temperance admonishes us 
to dispense with superfluities, to have but few 
wants, to avoid whatever is forbidden, and to 
spurn vain-glory. And fortitude warns us 
against pride and vain-glory in prosperity, 
against dejection in adversity, against taking 
revenge for injuries received, and against seek- 
ing a pleasant and easy life. 

'^ Let prudence guide your reason, let forti- 
tude govern your temper, let temperance gov- 
ern your desires, and let justice rule all your 
actions" (St. Bonaventure). 

1. Prudence. 
Prudence is the virtue which finds and fol- 
lows the right rule of action. It judges whether 
a concrete action harmonizes with wisdom or 
truth. Though primarily a virtue of the mind, 
prudence not only judges of the integrity of an 
action, but also directs the will in avoiding evil 
and doing good, and so becomes the most potent 
of the moral virtues. Hence St. Bonaventure 
calls prudence '' the guide of all virtues," be- 
cause, as St. Augustine adds, " it teaches us to 



200 THE PRACTICE OF VIRTUE 

meet the present emergency, to profit by past 
experience, and to prej)are for future contin- 
gencies/' 

The parts of prudence are reason, understand- 
ing, recollection, caution, circumspection, pre- 
caution, and alertness. 

The acts of prudence are: (1) avoiding sin 
and its volimtary occasions; (2) doing Avhat we 
would advise others to do in our circumstances ; 
(3) patient endurance of adversity; (4) main- 
taining self-control when suddenly placed in a 
critical position; (5) praying for resignation to 
God's will. 

We may fail against prudence by negligence, 
inconstancy, inconsiderateness, and precipita- 
tion on the one hand, and by astuteness, fraud, 
deception, and worldly wisdom on the other. 

As our first concern as Christians should be 
to further our spiritual progress, we should use 
prudence in guarding against pride, '^ For he 
who is proud of his prudence will despise a 
friend and his advice and become his own 
enemy'' (St. Justin). 

2. Justice* 

Justice is the virtue which renders to every 
one his due. It is very comprehensive in its 
application, as it defines our duties to God, our 



TEE CARDINAL VIRTUES 201 

neighbor, and ourselves. Justice is the great 
moral virtue of a good will. " We love jus- 
tice/' remarks St. Augustine, '' in proportion 
as we hate iniquity.^' 

The observance of the following rules of con- 
duct will aid us in the practice of justice: (1) 
do unto others as you would wish them to do 
unto you ; (2) pay your honest debts to God and 
man; (3) be honorable in all your actions; (4) 
redeem your promise; (5) injure no one; re- 
pair an unintentional wrong; (6) promote the 
welfare of others; (7) be humble, modest, and 
charitable. 

Religion. 

Man^s principal obligation to God is religion. 
As a virtue religion consists in honoring God as 
the supreme Lord and Master. Some of the 
acts of religion are internal, others external. 
The principal external act of religion is to wor- 
ship God through the adorable sacrifice of the 
Mass. The principal internal acts of religion 
are prayer and devotion. We have already 
considered prayer and the sacrifice of the Mass, 
so we shall conclude by adding a few words of 
explanation on the subject of Devotion. As an 
act devotion is a pious inclination of the Avill 
to God ; as a habit it is promptitude in His serv^- 



202 TEE PRACTICE OF VIRTUE 

ice. Devotion results on the one hand from a 
stimulation of the affections bv meditating on 
the teaching of faith, on the other hand from the 
allurement of God's grace. There is a substan- 
tial and an accidental part to be considered in 
devotion. The substantial part is intrinsic and 
arises from our meditation on the infinite good- 
ness, love, and mercy of God towards us, who 
are so unworthy of Him. Accidental devotion 
results from the allurement of grace, and con- 
sists in a pious affection, which sweetens all our 
hardships in God's service. Sometimes this ac- 
cidental devotion becomes so intense that it 
affects the nervous system and manifests itself 
exteriorly by tears and the like ; it is then called 
sensible devotion. God gives this sensible de- 
votion as a rule in the beginning of our conver- 
sion to encourage us in His service. The other 
devotion, both substantial and accidental, every 
one may attain by humble prayer and mortifi- 
cation. 

3. Temperance, 

Temperance is the virtue which moderates 
our desires according to right reason. It estab- 
lishes order and moderation in all we say and 
do. '^ Temperance," says St. Prosper, ^^ makes 
US abstemious, sober, reserved, silent, serious. 



TEE CARDINAL VIRTUES 203 

and modest. It bridles our passions, moderates 
our affections, multiplies our holy desires, and 
chastises our evil ones." " Temperance is to 
the Christian,'' says St. Bonaventure, '' what 
the bridle is to the horse.'' '' Temperance," 
adds Venerable Bede, ^^ makes us acceptable to 
God and man." 

The acts of temperance are: (1) to abstain 
from illicit pleasures; (2) to moderate licit 
ones; (3) to abstain from lawful pleasures in 
due season. 

The specific virtues of temperance are ab- 
stinence, sobriety, chastity, and modesty. The 
parts of temperance are humility, continency, 
meekness, clemency, application, modesty, and 
urbanity. The principal vices opposed to tem- 
perance are insensibility, intemperance, glut- 
tony, lust, immodesty, incontinency, pride, 
anger, cruelty, curiosity, negligence, and scur- 
rility. 

4. Fortitude, 

Fortitude is the virtue which teaches us to 
meet danger and to perform our duty faith- 
fully. Fortitude conducts us unscathed 
through adversity, and keeps us unperturbed 
in time of a crisis. Hence St. Prosper says : 
'' He is great, he is worthy of admiration, he 



204 TEE PRACTICE OF VIRTUE 

deserves to be called brave, who has not per- 
mitted vice to rebel against him or dominate 
him.'' The fortitude of the world usually 
springs from cupidity, v^hile Christian forti- 
tude derives its strength from the love of God. 
Behold the army of millions of martyrs, who 
professed their faith with their hearts' blood! 

In actual life humility must be the compan- 
ion of true fortitude. Humility will teach us 
to strengthen our fortitude by prayer in time 
of temptation, and to flee in time of temp- 
tations to impurity, for, though it may seem 
paradoxical, it is thus alone the brave conquer 
in this conflict. Magnanimity gives us courage 
to face danger, while patience restrains our 
temper and enables us to endure misfortune 
with an even mind. Confidence prepares us to 
meet a difiiculty, and constancy to overcome it. 
Magnificence, finally, prompts us to incur the 
necessary expense to attain our end. 

The acts of fortitude are: (1) generosity 
and constancy in self -discipline ; (2) persever- 
ance in prayer in spite of all difiiculties; (3) 
bravely to resist and endure temptation, 
strengthened by prayer and confidence in God ; 
(4) to guard against pride in prosperity and 
dejection in adversity; (5) to preserve tran- 
quillity of mind in time of trial; (6) bravely 



TEE CARDINAL VIRTUES 205 

to face any danger in defense of virtue and re- 
ligion; (7) if need be to face death itself in 
the profession of our faith, and in the practice 
of Christian charity; (8) prudently to under- 
take difficult tasks, strengthened by confidence 
in God; (9) calmly to avoid the dangers that 
exceed our strength. 

The vices opposed to fortitude are audacity, 
timidity, presumption, worldly ambition, pusil- 
lanimity, impatience, insensibility, parsimony, 
prodigality, pertinacity, and inconstancy. 



SECTION V. 

LIVING IN UNION WITH GOD — 
ACTIVE UNION. 

**Tf a]^y man will come after Me let him 
J[ deny himself and take np his cross daily, 
and follow Me" (Luke ix. 23). Thus far we 
have learned to deny ourselves, and take up our 
daily cross. We have still to learn how to fol- 
low our divine Model to active union with God. 
We shall therefore now consider Active Union 
with God in General, and then see how Heroic 
Union with God consists in the Perfect Ob- 
servance of the Beatitudes. 

I. ACTIVE UFIO?^ WITH GOD m 
GENERAL. 

Various theories of union with God have been 
advocated to satisfy the craving of the human 
heart. (1) Pantheism suggests the identifica- 
tion of the universe with God. (2) Christian 
Science denies the existence of the material 
world and identifies the spirit world with God. 
(3) Buddhism advocates the final absorption of 

206 



ACTIVE UNIOl^ WITH GOD 207 

the soul into the divine essence. (4) The re- 
formers of the sixteenth century made this union 
consist in a certain faith or trust in the Lord 
whereby their sins were not imputed to them. 
(5) The pietists of the following centuries made 
it consist in a certain pious feeling, which they 
called religion or the love of God, and which, 
they claimed, justified all their conduct. (6) 
The modernists of a few years ago made this 
union consist in a subjective adaptation of Him- 
self on the part of God to every individual. 
(7) The materialists of our day have dethroned 
God entirely and exalted an animal man in His 
stead. They hold that every man is sufficient 
unto himself, and will find his happiness in 
gratifying every desire of his heart. 

But Jesus Christ advocates an active, intel- 
ligent, free, personal union between God and 
man. According to this plan God does not de- 
base Himself to the level of sinful man, but 
man, aided by God and guided by His Church, 
rises above himself even to active union with 
God. He says : " Tour father knoweth what 
is needful for you " (Matt vi. 8). '' Seek first 
the kingdom of God, and these things will be 
added unto you " (Matt. vi. 33). " My meat is 
to do the will of Him who sent me" (John iv. 
34). '^ I do always the things that please Him " 



208 LIVING IN UNION WITH GOD 

(John viii. 29). "If you love Me keep My 
commandments" (John xiv. 15). "Father, 
not My will but Thine be done'^ (Luke xxii. 
42). "I have given you an example that as I 
have done you may do also " (John xiii. 15). 

1. Ohject of Union with God — Happiness. 

The reason which prompts us to seek an active 
union with God is happiness. God created us 
for happiness, and implanted in our hearts a 
longing for an endless possession of an infinite 
good. St. Augustine voiced this universal long- 
ing of mankind when he said : " Thou hast 
created me for Thee, O God, and my heart will 
never rest until it rest in Thee.'^ 

The human mind wants truth ; in God it finds 
Truth itself and the Author of all truth. The 
human will longs for the enjoyment of what is 
good; in God it finds the infinite Good and the 
Source of all goodness. The human heart longs 
to love and to be loved ; in God it finds that in- 
finite Love, who has loved us with an everlasting 
love, and who pleads for our love: " My son," 
He says, " give Me thy heart " (Prov. xxiii. 
26). Lastly, our life is necessarily an onward 
motion. If we are not to drift aimlessly, we 
must direct it to a definite end. In God we 



ACTIVE UNION WITH GOD 209 

have the final end of our existence. If, then, 
we are to attain happiness, we must cultivate an 
active union of mind, of will, of heart, and of 
daily life with God. In His words to Abra- 
ham God encourages us to strive after this 
union. ^^ Fear not,'' He says, '' I am thy pro- 
tector, and thy reward exceeding great '' (Gen. 
XV. 1). 

2. The Motive of Union with God — Love. 

As the fear of the Lord is the principal motive 
power in self-denial, and the hope of reward in 
the practice of virtue, so love for God is the 
motive which impels us to union with Him. By 
love we embrace Him as the infinite Good or 
sum-total of all perfection. This love is 
nourished by contemplating God's perfections in 
themselves and His goodness, love, and mercy, 
towards us. It prompts us (1) to learn God 
more and more that we may esteem Him ade- 
quately; (2) to cling to Him as the greatest 
good; (3) to do His holy will in all things; (4) 
to seek our spiritual advancement to please Him 
and to become like to Him; (5) to endure all 
things for love of Him; (6) and to do all we 
can to make God known and loved by all man- 
kind. 



210 LIVING IN UNION WITH GOD 

3. Means of Union with God — Conformiiy to 
God's Will. 

There are two means of union with God ; the 
one divine, the other human. The divine means 
consists in grace and the special dispensations 
of Providence which give man the occasion and 
the power to desire and to do what is pleasing 
to God. The human means, which is the free 
will of man, by yielding to the allurements of 
grace, gives God the opportunity to bring the 
will of man into conformity with His own. 

This conformity demands an absolute sur- 
render of ourselves to God. It demands (1) 
that we will what God wills, because He wills, 
when He wills, where He wills, and as He wills ; 
(2) that we cling to God alone, and that with 
all our affections, and obey and please Him in 
all things; (3) that for God's sake we accept 
with equal indifference and promptness whair 
ever is easy or difficult, agreeable or repugnant ; 
(4) and that we persevere in this union with 
God and keep our wills in absolute subjection 
to His will. 

4. Signs of Union with God, 

We may judge of our personal union with 
God by the rule which the Saviour Himself 



ACTIVE UlSiION WITH GOD 211 

gives us : ^^ By their fruits you shall know 
them'^ {Matt. vii. 16). We manifest our love 
for God not so much by word as by action. 
Hence St. John says : " Let us not love in 
word, nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth '' 
(1 JoJin iii. 18). We show our love for God 
especially (1) by avoiding every deliberate sin 
and imperfection; (2) by our fervor in our 
devotions; (3) by our zeal in the practice of 
humility; (4) by our perfect obedience to our 
lawful superiors; (5) and especially by the 
practice of fraternal charity, which our divine 
Saviour Himself makes the test of our love for 
God. '' For he that loveth not his brother, 
whom he seeth, how can he love God, whom he 
seeth not" (1 John iv. 20). 

5. Counsels on Union with God, 

1. As Christian perfection on earth consists 
in the proximate disposition by which we sur- 
render ourselves to God and seek to please Him, 
let us frequently renew this total surrender of 
ourselves, that we may acquire facility and 
promptness in its practice. 

2. Let us often pray God to take full pos- 
session of us, and to dispose of us entirely ac- 
cording to His good pleasure. 

3. God wants us to be above all worldly 



212 



LIVING IN UNION WITH GOD 



solicitude, says St. Augustine, for, by multiply- 
ing our cares, we put off our spiritual progress. 
4. We must cultivate union with God with 
assiduity and sacrifice, and beg it most earnestly 
of God. Why are there so many spiritual in- 
valids ? Alas, because there are many to taste 
the sweetness of the spiritual life, but only few 
have the generous good will to suffer with the 
Saviour in conformity with the holy will of 
God. 

11. HEROIC UmO]^ WITH GOD — THE 
BEATITUDES. 

1. The Beatitudes in General, 

As the Decalogue sums up man's natural obli- 
gations, and the Precepts of the Church define 
the essential obligations of a Christian, so the 
Beatitudes are both the laws of spiritual de- 
velopment and the standard of Christian per- 
fection. We shall here consider the Beatitudes 
as the standard of heroic virtue or union with 
God. 

Two things unite in the sanctification of all 
of good will: the concrete nature of man, and 
the graces or gifts of God. These two vary in 
every individual, and their variety accounts for 
the variety in the children of God, while the 
Beatitudes are ever the same. 



HEROIC UNION WITH GOD 213 

Our natural powers can not be merely pent up 
by negative perfection. They are active, and 
must attain their perfection along virtuous 
channels before they can enjoy the full bless- 
ings of the Beatitudes. On this account none 
of the Beatitudes is merely negative, but each 
places a definite happiness before us which we 
can possess and enjoy only in proportion to the 
perfection with which we have practised the 
corresponding virtues. 

2. ^'Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit, for Theirs is 
the Kingdom of Heaven/^ 

On the very threshold of life we are tempted 
by the world in the manner most calculated to 
turn us from the narrow way. Before we have 
had experience or developed strength of char- 
acter, the world invites us on the one hand to a 
life of indulgence and dissipation, and on the 
other hand threatens us with its undying enmity. 
In our day the inventions of science seem to 
have conspired with the world to enervate us by 
ministering to our comfort and pleasure. And 
yet it will ever be true that our contentment con- 
sists in having as few wants as possible, and our 
perfection, as far as the things of this world are 
concerned, in loving and living the poverty of 
the lowly Saviour, yes, in actually loving the 



214 LIVING IN UNION WITH GOD 

effects of poverty^ such as cold, hunger, thirst, 
plain clothes, hard labor, and an humble and 
despised life, as they enter into our daily ex- 
perience. This utter detachment from earthly 
things is impossible without a preceding and cor- 
responding attachment to God, especially by 
perfect hope. 

The first beatitude, therefore, emphasizes the 
special happiness, the reward of perfect hope. 
This flows from that intimate union with God 
which makes us indifferent to all earthly things, 
and enables us to conform to His holy will and 
trust in His aid, even when, humanly speaking, 
there is no hope. " Seek ye therefore first the 
kingdom of God and His justice, and all these 
things shall be added unto you ^' (Matt. vi. 33). 

3. ''Blessed Are the MeeJc for They Shall Possess 
the Land" 

Intimately allied with the world in the battle 
of life is man's selfish nature. This hankers 
after worldly indulgence, pleasure, and honor, 
while his nobler nature craves for union with 
God. To attain intimate union with God by 
perfect conformity to His holy will, man must, 
therefore, have gained so complete a mastery 
over pride and self-love, that he is dead, or 
totally indifferent to himself and lives only in 



HEROIC UNION WITH GOD 215 

and for God. This victory he achieves by the 
practice of heroic temperance on the one hand, 
and by religious self-immolation on the other. 
When man is thus united to God he has learned 
from his Master to be meek and humble of heart. 
He detests sin as the greatest evil in the worlds 
and can be aroused to anger only by zeal for the 
glory of God, like his Master in the temple, or 
v^hen championing the outraged rights of a help- 
less neighbor. Being at peace with God and 
man, he is thus enabled to enjoy the happiness 
of the second beatitude ; '' Blessed are the meek, 
for they shall possess the land.'' 

4, ^'Blessed Are They That Mourn for They Shall 
he Comforted/' 

Suffering is indigenous to this valley of tears. 
The pessimist views its darkest shadows, the 
optimist its silvery lining. But the perfect 
Christian accepts the sufferings of life in a 
spirit of faith and says with his divine Master : 
" Father, not my will but Thine be done " 
(Luke xxii. 42). Though he can not fathom the 
mystery of suffering, he has such implicit con- 
fidence in God that the remotest shadow of 
doubt concerning the wisdom, goodness, and love 
of this devoted Friend never enters his mind. 
With holy Job he could say : " Although He 



216 LIVING IN UNION WITH GOD 

should kill me^ I will trust in Him " (Job xiii. 

15). 

On. His part God is never outdone in gener- 
osity. Andj as we often learn the love and de- 
votion of an earthly friend only in adversity, 
so it is especially when we cling to Him by 
heroic faith in suffering that God reveals the 
tenderest sympathy of His infinite love for us. 

By conformity to the will of God in suffer- 
ing the ills of life, therefore, we attain the third 
degree of Christian perfection and are entitled 
to the happiness of those of whom the Saviour 
said : " Blessed are they that mourn for they 
shall be comforted.'' 

5. ''Blessed Are Tliey Thai Hunger and Thirst 
after Justice for They Shall Have Their Fill/' 

When man experiences hunger and thirst in 
a normal condition of health, these indicate the 
labor and endurance which produced them. 
This rule applies no less to the spiritual than to 
the physical order. A relish for God and spirit- 
ual things in a Christian is therefore indicative 
of earnest striving after union with God. It 
also indicates that man's taste has not been 
perverted by the allurements of the flesh and 
the world, nor paralyzed by a pessimistic view 
of life. Having attained the perfection of the 



HEROIC UNION WITH GOD 217 

first three beatitudes without loss of fervor, the 
soul may now exclaim in the words of the Psalm- 
ist : '' As the heart panteth after the fountains 
of water; so my soul panteth after Thee, O 
God '' (Ps. xli. 2). And as God is both faith- 
ful and true, the hunger and thirst of that soul 
for justice, or for the fulfilment of God's holy 
will in all things, is rewarded by a higher degree 
of happiness which results from its finding in 
God all that it can desire. 

6. ''Blessed Are the Merciful, for They Shall 
Obtain Mercy." 

^' Ye men of Galilee, why stand you here 
looking up to heaven?'' (Acts i. 11.) These 
words of the angels to the disciples, after the 
ascension of Jesus into heaven, may truly be 
applied to the soul that hesitates after attaining 
the happiness of the fourth beatitude. For, she 
has not yet reached the summit of perfection, 
and has still a great work to perform. The 
first commandment is, indeed, to love God above 
all ; but the second is like to it, to love our neigh- 
bor as ourselves for the love of God. The love 
of a soul, intimately united to God, should there- 
fore prompt her to love all mankind, to sympa- 
thize with all, to have compassion for all, and 
to do her utmost to bring all mankind to the 



218 LIYISG IS ryiOX WITH GOD 

same union Tvith God. This love transcends the 
limits of justice by blending justice ^ith mercy. 
It is what St. Paul calls '* putting on the bowels 
of mercy'' (Col. iii. 13). It deifies the Chris- 
tian character by making it gentle, sensitive, and 
compassionate towards all creation. It is con- 
tagious and communicates itself to all who come 
in contact with it. It is rewarded by God and 
man with a special happiness, for ^' Blessed are 
the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.'' 

7. ''Blessed Are the Clean of Heart for They 

Shdl See Gcdr 

In the performance of the works of mercy the 
Christian soul is in danger of being influenced 
by the pestilence of sin ; for in this life she must 
meet sin in the concrete, that is, in the person 
of the sinner. If she is naturally sympathetic, 
the soul is easily contaminated. If she is self- 
contained and reseiwed, she is in danger of be- 
coming bitter and cynical on the one hand, or 
daring and reckless on the other. 

This personal danger, arising from contact 
with persons, the Christian soul can remove only 
by cultivating a personal imion with the God- 
Man Jesus Christ by a devout perfoiTaance of 
her religious duties. If fervor and devotion 
have kept her mind united to God by a faith 



HEROIC UNION WITH GOD 219 

ever free from delusion, if they have kept her 
heart united to Him by unselfish love, and if 
they have kept her will united to God by per- 
fect conformity to His holy will in her perf oim- 
ance of the works of mercy, the Christian soul 
has attained another degree of perfection. And 
at this stage she is entitled to the happiness 
which the Saviour promised when He said: 
"Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall 
see God.'' 

8. ^'Blessed Are the Peacemakers, for They Shall 
Be Called the Children of Ood," 

Lasting peace can be established only on the 
principles of truth and justice. The Christian 
soul, who is a peacemaker between God and man, 
or between man and man, must be disinterested 
to the claims of both, and compromise neither 
truth nor justice, to establish a lasting peace. 
To champion the cause of both, the soul must 
not only love God, but also know, trust, and 
sympathize with her neighbor to the extent that 
she is willing to sacrifice herself to establish a 
lasting peace. 

The Christian soul knows that though sin is 
objective, the guilt of the sinner is subjective, 
that is, relatively proportionate to the sinner's 
dimmed vision, weakened will, and passionate 



220 LIVING IN UNION WITU GOD 

nature, that it is proportionate to the suddenness 
and violence of the temptation, and to every 
circumstance that influenced the sinner in his 
transgression. 

In full sympathy with the difficulties before 
her, and v^ith an unshaken faith in the offender 
and a boundless patience and toleration with 
him, the soul who acts as peacemaker brings 
the guilty one to admit the claims of both truth 
and justice, and moves him to struggle honestly 
to fulfil both. Having strengthened him in this 
resolution she sends him away feeling how good 
and merciful God is, or how deserving his neigh- 
bor of his nobler consideration. 

By thus acting as the mediator of God on 
earth the Christian soul unites herself, and en- 
dears herself still more to Him, and receives the 
beatitude of being more than a child of men, a 
true child of God. 

9. ''Blessed Are They That Suffer Persecution for 
Justice' Sake, for Theirs is the Kingdom of 
Heaven/' 

The pinnacle of Christian perfection is to 
rejoice in suffering for love of God. The hap- 
piness of this beatitude is not promised to those 
eccentric individuals who by their inhuman 



HEROIC UNION WITH GOD 221 

tactlessness arouse the antagonism of others; 
neither is it promised to religious cranks who 
provoke the ill will of others by their glaring 
faults and obtrusive devotions. It is reserved 
for that meek and humble Christian soul^ who 
is nailed to the cross of her Master by the dia- 
bolical hatred of the world. She derives no 
pleasure from the opposition, as some strange 
characters do, nor does she receive consolation 
from any purely human source. From the days 
of Abel to our day countless men and women, 
who acted in perfect union with God and with 
the purest of motives and the best of intentions 
towards their neighbor, have suffered from the 
antagonism of ignorance and indifference, from 
the opposition of nervousness and intolerance, 
from the jealousy of vile suspicion and base 
slander, and from the hatred of contumely, os- 
tracism, and systematic persecution. To suffer 
all this meekly for love of Him who died in 
ignominy and shame for love of us, is perfect 
conformity to the example of our divine Master 
as well as to the holy will of God. 

Indeed, the crowning test of love for God is, 
after having triumphed over the world and self, 
and lived and labored for the glory of God and 
the welfare of mankind, to endure with pleasure 



222 UTISG n VWIOX WITH GOD 

misfortune, hostilit|r, persecntion, and Tirtnal 
martyrdom. " Blessed are they that suffer per- 
secntion for jnstice* sake, for theirs is the king- 
dom of Heavai*'' 



1 



SECTION VI. 

DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
LIFE IN THE RELIGIOUS STATE. 

THE Eeligious state is a fixed manner of 
life, counseled by the Saviour and ap- 
proved by the Church in His name, in which 
those who enter profess to strive after Chris- 
tian perfection by the observance of poverty, 
chastity, and obedience. It comprises various 
Eeligious bodies: (1) Orders, in which solemn 
vows are made; (2) Congregations, in which 
the members take simple vows; (3) Eeligious 
Institutes, in which the members take no vows 
but strive to observe their spirit. 

In a wide sense all Eeligious bodies approved 
by the Church are called Orders. Taken in this 
sense, every Order has a general and a particular 
object. The general object is always the glory 
of God and the sanctification of its members. 
The special object, or the means of attaining 
this general end, always consists in the per- 
formance of some work of mercy. 

In accordance with their specific object Orders 
223 



224 IXTERIOR LIFE IN RELIGIOUS STATE 

are divided into: (1) Contemplative, which aid 
the Church bj a life of prayer and penance; (2) 
Active, which emphasize the corporal works of 
mercy; (3) Mixed, which unite the perform- 
ance of the spiritual works of mercy to a life of 
prayer and penance. Active Orders have their 
model in Martha, contemplative Orders in 
Mary, and mixed Orders in Jesus and His 
apostles. 

In most Orders of our day provision is made 
for some members to practise the corporal works 
of mercy, while the others devote themselves to 
apostolic labors or to educational works. Thus 
provision is made for every soul that wishes to 
give her life to God. Unfortunately, the har- 
vest is so gTeat and the laborers so few that Re- 
ligious are often forced to devote more time to 
the active life than their founders intended. 

I. THE EELIGIOUS LIFE IX GEXEEAL. 

The Eeligious life is the interior life as prac- 
tised in the Eeligious state. The characteristic 
spirit of a particular Order is produced by em- 
phasizing a certain principle of the interior life 
in striving after its special end. 

Though the principles of the interior life are 
the same for all Christians, the application of 
these principles is facilitated in the Eeligious 



RELIGIOUS LIFE IN GENERAL 225 

state. Here souls enjoy a manifold advantage 
in freedom from earthly ties, in regularity of 
life, in the stability of vows, in the community 
of interest, and the like. 

1. The Religious Vows, 

The evangelical counsels embrace the practice 
of voluntary poverty, chastity, and obedience. 
By vowing to observe the evangelical counsels 
according to the rule of a Eeligious Order a 
Christian soul embraces the Eeligious state and 
enters the harbor of salvation. St. John as- 
sures us that the three great enemies of salvation 
are the concupiscence of the eyes, the concupis- 
cence of the flesh, and the pride of life. By em- 
bracing the Eeligious life a soul concentrates 
her energies on conquering these three ene- 
mies, so that she may love God and serve Him 
alone. 

By the vow of poverty she renounces the ar- 
bitrary use of earthly possessions, binds herself 
to cultivate a holy indifference to temporal 
things, and to content herself with the requisites 
for a plain, simple life. By the vow of chastity 
she renounces the pleasures of sense, lawful in 
married life, and binds herself to cultivate vir- 
ginal modesty as a spouse of Christ. Finally, 
by the vow of obedience she consecrates her will 



226 INTERIOR LIFE IN RELIGIOUS STATE 

to God, and humbly surrenders herself to Him 
in the person of her lawful superior. 

2. The Religious Rule, 

Every Keligious Order has a rule of life ap- 
proved by the ChurclL By defining the object, 
the labors, and the government of the Order, this 
rule directs the members in the observance of 
the evangelical counsels. 

A rule approved by the Church (1) gives 
stability to those who follow it; (2) saves them 
from many delusions of pride and self-love ; (3) 
makes known God's will to them at every mo- 
ment; (4) protects them against the dissipation 
of time, of grace, and of energy; (5) stimulates 
their generosity and fervor; (6) enables them 
to practise every virtue ; (7) and facilitates their 
final perseverance. 

3. Community Life. 

Another great advantage which Religious pos- 
sess is community life or life in common. For 
a soul desirous of perfection community life is 
superior to a solitary life in many ways: (1) 
it is more conformable to our social nature; (2) 
it enables each member of the community to 
profit by the talents of the others; (3) in it the 
good example of the fervent stimulates the con- 



EXCELLENCE OF TEE RELIGIOUS LIFE 227 

duct of the rest; (4) it enables the members of 
the community to do more collectively than they 
could accomplish by laboring independently; 
(5) it protects the members against the dangers 
of vanity and self-complacency; (6) it affords 
the members constant opportunity of practising 
charity. 

To advance on the way to perfection Religious 
should observe the following rules on commu- 
nity life: (1) seek your happiness in giving 
satisfaction to the community; (2) sacrifice 
yourself to God by performing your duties faith- 
fully, and by employing your time well; (3) 
promote harmony by accommodating yourself 
to others; (4) avoid all singularity as the evi- 
dence of hidden pride; (5) be ever kind and 
affable and you will always be charitable; (6) 
by the practice of humility be deferential to 
God and man ; (7) show your gratitude even for 
the smallest favors; (8) let patience supply for 
the defects of congeniality; (9) be blind, deaf, 
and dumb to everything but the glory of God, 
your spiritual progress, and the welfare of souls. 

11. THE EXCELLENCE OF THE 
EELIGIOUS LIFE. 

In speaking of the excellence of the Eeligious 
life, St. Bernard says : '' A Eeligious lives 



228 INTERIOR LIFE 17^ RELIGIOUS STATE 

more purely, falls more rarely, rises more 
promptly, walks more prudently, is refreshed 
more freely, reposes more securely, dies more 
confidently, is purified more promptly, and is re- 
warded more abundantly.'' Let us consider 
these features of the Religious life which com- 
bine in producing these fruits enumerated by 
St. Bernard. 

1. The Religious Life Is Supernatural. 

The Eeligious life is founded on the evangeli- 
cal counsels. Jesus counseled a life of poverty 
when He said to the young man in the Gospel : 
^^ If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast, 
and give it to the poor ; and come, follow Me " 
(Matt. xix. 21). He counseled virginal chas-^ 
tity when He said of it : " He that can take, let 
him take it " (Matt. xix. 12). He counseled a 
life of obedience by '' becoming obedient unto 
death, even the death of the cross " (Phil. ii. 
8), and by inviting us to follow His example. 
He exhorted to perseverance in the state of per- 
fection when He said to another young man, 
whom He had invited to become a disciple: 
" iSTo man putting his hand to the plow, and 
looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God '' 
(Luke ix. 62). 

In all ages of the Church the Holy Ghost has 



EXCELLENCE OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE 229 

moved generous souls to do great things for the 
glory of God and the salvation of souls. Many 
of these He inspired to perpetuate their work 
by founding Eeligious Orders. After testing 
them for years, and studying them carefully 
holy Church has given these Eeligious Orders 
her positive approbation. They ever remain 
the object of her special solicitude. In the past 
they have rewarded her maternal care by pre- 
senting to her the brightest lights in the galaxy 
of her canonized saints. 

2. The Religious Life a Life of Labor. 

In the entire history of the world no other 
body of men or women has done so much for the 
glory of God, for the benefit of humanity, or for 
their own individual welfare as the Eeligious. 
They converted and civilized the nations, taught 
them the arts and sciences, preserved the ancient 
classics for us, and enriched our modern litera- 
ture. In this day of philanthropy they are still 
foremost in the performance of the corporal and 
spiritual works of mercy, giving not merely 
money, but their daily lives, which they have 
consecrated to the Master in this cause. The 
ignorant and the vicious may accuse them as 
they accused the Master, but every succeeding 
age will vindicate them by bearing testimony to 



230 ULTERIOR LIFE IN RELIGIOUS STATE 

the fact that no other body of men or women 
systematically devote so many hours to honest 
labor, and so few to recreation, as Eeligious. 

3. The Religious Life a Life of Self-Denial. 

In the Religious life the principles of self- 
denial are applied systematically. The Chris- 
tian soul must forsake the vanities and follies 
of the world on entering the convent. She is 
housed in a plain dwelling, clothed in modest 
raiment, fed plain fare, and inured to the 
simple life. Her rule of life directs her to 
examine her conduct twice a day, so that by 
vigilance and penance she may offer God a per- 
fect sacrifice and serve Him with her whole 
heart and soul, with all her mind and strength. 
In the novitiate she is taught to subjugate her 
inordinate desires, to be indifferent to earthly 
things, and above all to detach herself from 
self-esteem, self-love, and self-will. Thus she 
is formed, according to the spirit of her Order, 
into a living copy of her crucified Master. 

4. The Religious Life a Life of Prayer. 

The Christian soul not only surrenders her- 
self to God upon entering the convent, but re- 
news this oblation daily. She awakens with a 
prayer on her lips, entertains the subject of her 



EXCELLENCE OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE 231 

meditation while dressing, performs her morn- 
ing devotions, spends her allotted time in medi- 
tation, assists at Holy Mass and receives Holy 
Communion. 

During the day she finds time for spiritual 
reading, the recitation of the rosary and of the 
divine office, a visit to the Blessed Sacrament, 
and other pious practices. Prompted by her 
spirit of piety and devotion her mind and heart 
commune with God during the busy hours of 
the day, even as those of the slaves of the world 
are filled with vain thoughts and desires. At 
noon and at night she has her time for recollec- 
tion and self-examination, and she closes the day 
with another meditation followed by evening 
devotions. Thus renewing her strength by in- 
timate union with God, the Eeligious joyfully 
performs the labors and endures the trials of 
life, for she has found the source of happiness 
of strength and of love. 

5. The Religious Life a Life of Virtue. 

The Christian soul enters the convent to 
strive after perfection by the practice of virtue. 
She has already learned the first lesson of hu- 
mility from her divine Spouse. Her entire life 
now grounds her more and more in this virtue. 
Her spiritual exercises imbue her with a spirit 



232 INTERIOR LIFE IN RELIGIOUS STATE 

of faith, of hope, and of love. Her rule, the 
example of her associates, the counsels of her 
superiors, and her daily experience teach her 
prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude, 
while the nature of her life and the special dis- 
pensations of Providence provide her with 
abundant opportunities of practising every 
virtue. 



6. The Religious Life Facilitates Christian 
Perfection. 

The Religious life facilitates Christian per- 
fection by affording the greatest safeguards, the 
greatest aids, and the greatest opportunities of 
living a life of perfection. 

The safeguards of the Religious life are nu- 
merous: (1) it protects the soul against the 
allurements of ease and comforts by prescribing 
a simple life; (2) it protects her against in- 
temperance in eating and drinking by serving 
frugal meals; (3) it protects her against danger- 
ous company by associating her ^dth the spouses 
of Christ; (4) it protects her against the dan- 
gers of pride and vanity by inducing her to live 
an humble and mortified life; (5) it protect-s 
her against the follies of self-will by subjecting 
her to the guidance of her lawful superiors ; (6) 
it protects her against human respect by teach- 



EXCELLENCE OF TBE RELIGIOUS LIFE 233 

ing her to fear God rather than man; (7) it 
protects her against worldly ambition by conse- 
crating her to the service of God; (8) it protects 
her against the temptations of the devil by teach- 
ing her to w^atch and pray lest she fall into 
sin. 

The Eeligious life likewise offers a soul the 
greatest aids to a life of perfection : (1) it holds 
up the lives of Christ and His saints as models 
for her daily imitation; (2) it permits her to 
reside under the same roof with her sacramental 
Lord; (3) it surrounds her with the means of 
grace; (4) it establishes her in virtue by a life 
of stability and regularity; (5) it stimulates 
her on the way to perfection by the letter of the 
rule and the example of her associates. 

Finally, the Eeligious life gives the soul the 
greatest opportunity of living a life of perfec- 
tion: (1) it offers her the opportunity of prac- 
tising every virtue in security; (2) it gives her 
ample occasion for prayer and devotion; (3) it 
gives her steady employment while she is well ; 
(4) it consoles her in affliction; (5) it cares for 
her in sickness and old age; (6) it gives her 
every consolation in death; (Y) it shortens her 
stay in purgatory and hastens her entrance into 
heaven. 



234 lyTERIOR LIFE IS RELIGIOUS STATE 



1 



7. The Beligious Life a Life of Union with God, 
The Eeligious life is pre-eminentiv a life of 
union with God. Upon entering the convent 
the soul strives to make herself worthy of her 
espousal to Jesus Christ by self-denial and the 
practice of virtue. In proportion as she dies to 
the world and her natural self, does she live a 
life of union with God. Enlightened by faith 
and strengthened by grace she conforms her life 
to the holy will of God in things repugnant to 
human nature as well as in things naturally 
acceptable. She gi^adually learns to unite her- 
self as devoutly to Jesus in the commimion of 
the cross as she receives Him in the sacrament 
of His love. In proportion as she approaches 
this stage does she become poor in spirit but 
rich in gi'ace, meek in demeanor but powerful 
in influence^ considerate for others and forget- 
ful of self, clean of heart and filled with the 
zeal of the Lord. Thus fastened to the cross of 
Christ by the mystic nails of poverty, chastity, 
and obedience, she becomes so intimately united 
to her heavenly spouse that she can say with St. 
Paul : '^ And I live, now not I ; but Christ 
liveth in me" {Gah ii. 20). 



PART II 
THE SUPEENATURAL LIFE 



235 



TpiE Supernatural Life is the spiritual life 
considered from God's standpoint. It is 
the effect which grace produces in every person 
of good will. Prompted by His goodness God 
always does His part to bring every creature to 
the perfection of its nature. The development 
of the vegetative and animal life, being unham- 
pered by created will, proceeds with the accu- 
racy of the laws which God -has established to 
govern the physical world. In the moral order, 
however, the influence of God depends on the 
good will or free co-operation of man. Only in 
proportion as man surrenders himself to God, by 
the observance of the laws of the interior life, 
is God free to further his spiritual development. 
Guided by His love and mercy God then does 
all He can to bring man to that perfection of 
grace and glory to which He has destined him. 
The paternal solicitude of God for man is 
evident from the work of creation and redemp- 
tion where He was not hampered by the perverse 
will of man. In making man it would have 

sufficed if God had endowed him with the power 
237 



238 THE SUPERNATURAL LIFE 

of attaining the perfection of his nature, but 
instead He created man in original justice and 
holiness. In the work of the redemption one 
prayer of Jesus Christ, one drop of His precious 
blood, would have sufficed to atone for the sins 
of the world. Prompted by His love and 
mercy, however, Jesus did not hesitate to shed 
the last drop of His precious blood for our sake 
and die in ignominy and shame. 

If human actions are difficult to understand 
at times, how much more incomprehensible must 
be the works of God? Still, if we approach 
them with reverence and love, we may trust, 
with the aid of God's grace, to find much in this 
study to stimulate our good will in the service 
of God. We shall consider : 

I. The Supernatural Order in General. 

II. The Divine Influence in Self-Denial, or 
Passive Purgation. 

HI. The Divine Influence in the Practice 
of Virtue, or Passive Illumination. 

IV. The Divine Influence Uniting the Soul 
to God, or Passive Union. 



1 



SECTION I. 
THE SUPERNATURAL ORDER. 

THERE are three kinds of beings in the spirit- 
ual world : men, angels, and God. What- 
ever pertains to the perfection of man as man is 
natural for him. Thus, life, liberty, and the 
pursuit of happiness is natural to man. What- 
ever pertains to the perfection of angels, but is 
undue to man as a being of a lower order, is 
preternatural to him. Thus immortality is nat- 
ural to angels but preternatural to man as man. 
Finally, whatever pertains to the perfection of 
God and is undue to both angels and men, but 
which God has graciously extended to His crea- 
tures, is supernatural to them. Hence, the su- 
pernatural order is that part of the economy of 
God to which man has no natural claim. It in- 
cludes all that pertains to man's destiny, re- 
demption, sanctification, and glorification. 

As creatures of God mankind has no claim to 
the inheritance of heaven, but God freely be- 
stowed that right by giving mankind a super- 
natural destiny. When mankind forfeited the 
239 



240 TBE SUPERNATURAL ORDER 

means of attaining that destiny through the sin 
of Adam, God restored it through the work of 
redemption. Even now, when born to the spir- 
itual life in holy Baptism, man is powerless of 
himself to attain perfection, so God promotes 
the spiritual growth of all of good will by the 
work of sanctification, and crowns all who per- 
severe with Beatific Vision. 

To obtain a clearer outline of the supernat- 
ural order and of the infinite goodness of God 
manifested in it, let us consider God, His 
works, and His supernatural gifts to man, 

I. GOD. 
1. The Nature and Attributes of God, 

God is a spirit infinitely perfect, who exists 
of necessity and on whom all things depend. 
God's nature is His essence considered as the 
sum total of His perfections. Essence makes 
a being what it is. Thus body and soul consti- 
tute the essence of man. The essence of God 
consists in this, that of necessity God is, and is 
of Himself, sufiicient unto Himself. Hence, 
when asked about Himself by Abraham, God 
replied: ^^ I am who am" (Exod. iii. 14). 
N'ature is essence in the concrete, or considered 
as the source of action. In God there is no real 



GOD 241 

distinction between essence and nature. The 
one considers Him who is, the other Him who 
a<3ts. 

The attributes are the perfections necessarily 
inherent in the divine nature. Those attri- 
butes which are peculiar to God as one in es- 
sence are called absolute, while those which refer 
to Him as three in person are called relative. 
In creatures attributes are qualities really dis- 
tinct from their nature and essence, but God is a 
being of such exalted perfection that there is no 
real distinction between His nature and His 
absolute attributes, nor between the attributes 
themselves. There is, however, a foundation 
in the essence and perfection of God for us to 
make a distinction in our minds in order to ob- 
tain a clearer idea of the divine nature. The 
attributes, therefore, are only so many different 
views we may take of God as God. When we 
consider God as the one, necessary Being, 
He is simple, infinite, immutable, inconfusable, 
immense, eternal, invisible, incomprehensible, 
and ineffable. When we consider God as a 
perfect being. He is one, true, good, omni- 
present, and omnipotent. Lastly, when we con- 
sider God as a spirit. He is omniscient and 
almighty. 



^42 THE SUPERNATURAL ORDER 

2. The Mind of God. 

The mind of God is His divine nature con- 
sidered as the source of His knowledge. God 
understands all things perfectly. He ade- 
quately comprehends His divine nature, and in 
it has the knowledge of all beings. Seeing all 
things in Himself, God's knowledge is in no 
way dependent on the lapse of time or on the 
free will of man. To Him all things are pres- 
ent, none past or to come. Antecedently to the 
decree of creation God sees all things are possi- 
ble. Consecutively to that decree He sees the 
minutest detail of those things which He in- 
cludes in the economy of creation, whether He 
positively wills them to happen according to the 
laws of nature and grace, or whether He merely 
permits them to happen through the free will of 
His creatures. Hence, in wondering contem- 
plation the Royal Psalmist justly exclaimed: 
'^ O Lord, Thou hast made all things in wis- 
dom '^ (Ps. ciii. 24). 

3. The Will of God. 

The will of God is His divine nature con- 
sidered as the source of His love, desire, and 
power. God necessarily loves Himself. He 
solemnly assures us that He has loved us with 



GOD 243 

an everlasting love. Being infinitely holy He 
can not love evil directly, though He may love 
physical evil indirectly for the sake of the good 
that will result from it. But sin, or moral evil, 
God can never love, because it is always op- 
posed to what is good. Still, God can and does 
tolerate sin, though He detests and reprobates it. 
Having supplied all with superabundant means 
of doing good, God would have to deprive man 
of his liberty, if He could not permit or tolerate 
its abuse. 

God necessarily desires His own honor and 
glory. He freely desires the creation, govern- 
ment, and consummation of the world and the 
happiness of every creature. Objectively con- 
sidered, or antecedently to the choice of free 
secondary causes, God desires only what is abso- 
lutely good. Concretely considered, or consecu- 
tively to the free choice of secondary causes, God 
desires the good with its individuating circum- 
stances of evil. 

The power of God is dependent on the de- 
cision of His mind and the desire or choice of 
His will for its operation. God could have cre- 
ated countless other worlds than He did. He 
could have placed every creature in countless 
other circumstances. But it was God's pleasure 
to create this particular world, and to have every 



244 THE SUPERNATURAL ORDER j 

creature in it to occupy the particular circum- | 

stances of time and place He has assigned to it \ 

from all eternity. From the dawn of creation i 

to the consummation of the world the power of | 

God infallibly governs all things to the honor ; 

^nd glory of their Maker, and the sanctification j 

of all men of good will. ; 

4. The Virtues of God. 

The virtues of God are His divine nature 
considered as the source of His holiness or moral ; 
perfection. Evidently only those virtues can be i 
rightly applied to God which imply no imper- 
fection in themselves. There are four virtues I 
w^hich attain their highest perfection only in 
God. They are love, justice, mercy, and provi- 
dence. As we have already seen, God loves ; 
righteousness, rejoices in it, and is zealous for 
it, even as He hates and detests iniquity. He : 
has freely conferred the right to eternal happi- ; 
ness on man, and, because He is just and true, ^ 
God will infallibly confer it upon all of perse- ] 
vering good will and refuse it to all who die in i 
mortal sin. As '' the earth is full of His 
mercy " God is ever ready to pardon the repent- 
ant sinner while his probation is yet progressing, 
and to reinstate the returning prodigal in the j 



EXTERNAL WORKS OF GOD 245 

inheritance which he has squandered. Finally, 
God is provident, that is, He has wisely planned 
this world and governs it with equal wisdom so 
that it will contribute to His honor and glory as 
well as to the welfare of all His creatures. 

11. THE EXTEENAL WOEKS OF GOD. 

There are two actions of God, each producing 
a twofold work. One action was necessary, the 
other free; the first was from eternity, the sec- 
ond began with time ; the first was internal, the 
other external. In the first the Father begot the 
Son by His knowledge of Himself, and the mu- 
tual love of Father and Son became the Holy 
Ghost. By the second action God created and 
governs the world for His glory and the welfare 
of His creatures. We are here concerned in 
the external work of God. By creation He 
made the world out of nothing and preserves it 
in existence. By His government of the world 
God moves every creature to glorify Him by 
seeking its own happiness. 

In studying this external work of God, even 
in a cursory manner, both truth and justice de- 
mand that we view it from God's standpoint, 
and not subject Him and His infinite perfec- 
tions to the limited standard of our finite minds. 



246 THE SUPERNATURAL ORDER 

With the doctrine outlined in the preceding 
chapter clearly before our minds, we may pro- 
ceed to study the details of God's work. 

1. The Economy of God's Worh 

The economy of God's work is His order and 
method of manifesting His perfection in and 
through creation, or His system in the creation, 
government, and consummation of the world. 
Three things enter into this economy: the plan 
to be followed, the means to be employed, and 
the method to be adopted in manifesting the per- 
fection of God in and through created things. 
Evidently all three must be left to the holy will 
of God. 

In the first place, God will choose a plan that 
is practical. He is free to choose from the 
whole range of possible worlds. An adequate 
reproduction of His infinite perfection is im- 
possible, even as an ideal world is impracticable. 
A practical plan must apply to a concrete world 
to the minutest detail, and do justice to the 
Divine Architect. From the countless worlds 
He could have created, and from the countless 
places He could have assigned to each creature 
in His plan, God decided on the plan for the 
world of which we are a part. 

^' But why create those whom God foreknew 



EXTERNAL WORKS OF GOD 247 

to become reprobates ? " some may ask. ^^ Why 
is thy eye evil because I am good ? " (Matt. xx. 
15) replied the Saviour to a similar question. 
Creation is certainly an evidence of God's good- 
ness, which should be gratefully accepted by 
every being. ]SI"ot to create those who have a bad 
will, or to create them confirmed in grace, might 
satisfy the infinite love of God, but would not 
glorify His justice and mercy. And " His ten- 
der mercies are over all His works " (Ps. cxliv. 
9). God's kindness to His creatures can not 
make Him unjust to Himself. The primary 
object of creation must be the glory of God. 
Even the reprobate must contribute to it. If 
they will not glorify the goodness, the love, and 
the mercy of God by living Christian lives, they 
will have to glorify the justice of God for ever. 
Besides, not to create those whom God foreknew 
to become reprobates would undoubtedly inter- 
fere with the law of generation and probably 
might have destroyed the human race at an early 
date. 

In justice to Himself and to His creatures 
God must give them the means of working out 
their destiny. On the one hand He might have 
gone to the extreme of creating man confirmed 
in grace or even in the enjoyment of glory. On 
the other hand He had to give them at least suf- 



248 THE SUPERNATURAL ORDER 

ficient means to attain salvation. A middle 
course probably harmonized more with God's 
infinite perfection. At any rate it pleased His 
holy will. Having decided on His plan, God 
does all in His power to bring His creatures to 
the perfection of that plan, wherever His de- 
signs are not frustrated by the short-sightedness 
or perversity of man. In the beginning He 
endowed mankind with the gifts of original jus- 
tice and holiness, and supplied them with an 
easy, practical means of ensuring its possession 
for ever. When by the perversity of man the 
means of attaining his destiny were forfeited, 
God the Son established means of grace so super- 
abundant in the work of the redemption that 
holy Church exclaims in exultation : '^ O happy 
fault of Adam that merited for us such a Sav- 
iour ! '' 

Even in the present economy of His work 
God could have established different means of 
attaining life everlasting. He could have re- 
vealed additional truths, enact-ed additional 
laws, provided for different means of grace. 
But who will deny that the means God has 
established are superabundant for all of good 
will, or that they do not harmonize with the love, 
the justice, and the mercy of God ? 

Finally, God could have chosen a different 



EXTERNAL WORKS OF GOD 249 

manner of applying the means of perfection. 
He could have treated with every soul individ- 
ually, or employed the ministry of angels in His 
dealings with mankind. But would that have 
been as human or sympathetic as His ministry 
in the Church? No doubt one reason for the 
Incarnation of the Son of God was that as one of 
us He might sympathize with us and thereby 
establish a bond that would draw us to Him. 
For the same reason God has always employed 
the ministry of man in dealing vnth man. Be- 
sides, God could have established a different 
form of worship. But would it have been more 
appropriate? Would a different method for 
growth in virtue have been more secure? A 
different period of probation more advantage- 
ous ? Let us say with St. Paul : " O the depth 
of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowl- 
edge of God! How incomprehensible are His 
judgments, and how unsearchable His ways ! " 
(Rom. xi. 33.) 

2. The Creation of the World. 

When we view the creation of the world in 
its true perspective we find the six requisites for 
its perfect accomplishment in the attributes of 
God: (1) the motive for a free action is fur- 
nished by His goodness; (2) the capacity for 



250 TBE SUPERNATURAL ORDER 

the action bj His knowledge; (3). an ideal or 
plan of action by His perfection; (4) a prac- 
tical plan of action by His wisdom; (5) the 
ability for the action by His power; (6) and the 
object or end for the action in the glorification 
of God and the happiness of His creatures. 

God sees all things knowable^ according to the 
perfection of His nature, simply in His divine 
essence. He sees them in every possible phase 
and circumstance, and in every possible rela- 
tionship of dependence on Himself and on one 
another according to the laws of causation. 
When, therefore, His goodness prompts God to 
glorify Himself in and through created things, 
His wisdom consults His perfection as His true 
ideal or model of action, and selects from among 
all possible beings a concrete world that can 
adequately fulfil His plan. In accordance with 
this plan, God destines His work to consist of 
inanimate matter, a vegetable, and an animal 
kingdom, man, and the angels. 

God calls this world into existence by His 
power, and, guided by His divine wisdom, de- 
velops it with absolute fidelity, as long as He is 
not thwarted by the perverse will of His crea- 
tures. When God's knowledge foresees the in- 
terference of intelligent or rational secondary 
causes, His wisdom provides that the primary 



EXTERNAL WORKS OF" GOD 251 

object of creation, which is the glory of God, 
shall never be frustrated. Prompted by His 
goodness the wisdom of God provides, besides, 
that His power will do all in harmony with His 
plan, and without forcing the free will of His 
creatures, to promote their individual happiness 
or perfection. For, in justice to His infinite 
perfection, both His plan, and His part in the 
execution of that plan must necessarily be per- 
fect, tend to perfection, and attain the highest 
degree of perfection, which the concrete circum- 
stances of every individual creature will permit. 

From all that God has done for man in the 
works of creation, redemption, and sanctifica- 
tion we may reasonably infer that the goodness 
of God has inserted the choicest blessings of 
heaven in His plan for all of good will, and that 
God takes a greater interest in the happiness of 
man than man does himself. 

The elaboration and final execution of God's 
plan in the natural order is called Providence, 
and in the supernatural order Predestination. 

3. Government of Creatures in General, 

In creation and preservation God gives every 
creature its concrete nature and power of action. 
By fiixed laws He moves irrational creatures to 
act for His glory and their individual preserva- 



252 TEE SUPERNATURAL ORDER 

tion and development, and concurs in their ac- 
tion. Not having given them intelligence, He 
gives irrational creatures no more choice of the 
motive, plan, or purpose of their existence than 
of their position in the order of causation. 

In making angels and man to His image and 
likeness, however, and destining them for the 
joys of heaven, God has not only given them an 
ability and a capacity for action, which He has 
denied to the lower creatures, but He has also 
implanted in their natures an inclination for 
His own motive, place, and purpose of action. 
This inclination impels angels and man to 
action, and prompts them to promote their own 
happiness by the pursuit of truth and goodness 
in particular, but leaves them free to act in har- 
mony with God's motive, plan, and purpose, or 
to substitute their own motive, plan, and pur- 
pose in their stead. As an incentive to act in 
harmony with Him, God offers the reward of 
heaven for good will, and threatens eternal rep- 
robation for bad will to all intelligent and 
rational creatures. 

4. Government of IrraUonal Creatures, 

In addition to a motive, plan, and purpose of 
action^ every efficient cause must have an oppor- 
tunity or proximate occasion for action. God's 



EXTERNAL WORKS OF GOD 253 

own goodness gave Him the opportunity to cre- 
ate and preserve the world and to move it to 
contribute to His glory. In moving individual 
creatures to act, and in concurring in their ac- 
tion as their First Cause, God provides this op- 
portimity for Himself and for them (1) in the 
physical order by the fixed laws^ which He has 
established for the government of the universe, 
(2) and in the moral order by the free choice 
or election of intelligent and rational crea- 
tures. 

As an illustration of how God moves irra- 
tional creatures as well as man, in his spontane- 
ous movements to action and concurs in their 
action by the fixed laws of nature, let us con- 
sider a grain of seed that has found its way into 
congenial soiL It lies there until it is mois- 
tened by rain, and quickened by the warm rays 
of the sun. This circumstance is the proximate 
occasion for God to move that seed to germinate 
and grow, and to concur in its germination and 
development. At the same time it is the proxi- 
mate occasion for the germ of life in the seed 
to assert itself, to sprout and advance, until it 
attains the highest degree of perfection which 
its concrete circumstances will permit. 

The laws of nature are more complex in their 
application in the animal kingdom, and most 



254 TBE SUPERNATURAL ORDER 

complex, though just as infallible, in their influ- 
ence on those acts of man which are entirely 
spontaneous, while they exert a proportionate 
amount of influence on those actions of man 
which may be called mixed, because they are 
prompted partly by spontaneous impulse and 
partly are elicited by free will. In fact, the 
unswerving application of the natural law is 
so universally recognized that it has become the 
foundation of the axiom : '' Xature always 
does her best.'' When Christianized this axiom 
assures us that God always carries His work 
as near to the perfection of His plan as concrete 
circumstances will permit. 

6. God's Government of the Sinner. 

In a general way we may divide the actions 
of man into involuntary, mixed, and voluntary. 
We have already seen how the laws of nature 
govern the involuntary actions of man, and how 
they exert their influence on the mixed actions, 
in so far as they are involuntary. We shall 
now proceed to consider the actions of man in 
the moral order, or in so far as they are deter- 
mined by man's choice or free will. We have 
already seen how God has implanted in human 
nature a longing for happiness. Now, this 
longing, which prompts inferior creatures to 



EXTERNAL WORKS OF GOD 255 

seek their perfection in accordance with the 
fixed laws of nature^ also impels man to act 
and to seek his happiness in particular, but it 
leaves the determination of his deliberate ac- 
tions to his free choice^ or volition. In conse- 
quence of this liberty of action, man is placed 
in a dilemma early in life where he must choose 
between self-gratification and the service of 
God. For, on the one hand, his nature, which 
inclines to evil as the result of original sin, 
will be allured to '^ the broad way " by the world 
and the devil, and, on the other hand, his mind, 
though ob^^ured, inclines to truth and justice, 
and his will craves for happiness, as the result 
of the tendency implanted in him by his Crea- 
tor. Even in this dilemma his inborn sense 
of right and wrong is strong enough to enable 
man to overcome some of the lesser temptations 
of life, though he surely needs the help of God 
to conquer serious temptation. 

As a practical illustration of God's govern- 
ment of the sinner, let us consider him at his 
worst. Let us suppose that the sinner was 
reared in ignorance and vice, that the enemies 
of his salvation had possession of his heart be- 
fore he attained the use of reason, that they 
filled his mind with error and prejudice, that 
they gagged his conscience in his infancy, 



256 TEE SUPERNATURAL ORDER 

that they bound him with the fetters of vice 
till they seemed to constitute his very nature, 
that they had enthroned his passions as regents 
of his soul, that they had hardened his heart and 
smothered every noble aspiration in him by 
every bad habit; in fact, that they had em- 
ployed him so constantly in doing wrong that 
he did not even have time to pause and reflect. 
Even in this deplorable state the fundamen- 
tal truth, that there is a Grod who rewards the 
good and punishes the wicked, remains en- 
graven on the sinner's nature, and may prompt 
the sinner to go from one extreme to the other. 
The reaction will begin, if it occurs at all, when 
the sinner is forced by some misfortune to look 
into himself and acknowledge that his longing 
for happiness is still unsatisfied. For it is then 
that he hears the sentinel of truth proclaim: 
" Time is fleeting — life is short — eternity 
lasting. — Man wants something more than the 
world can give to make him happy." If that 
sinner turns away from the truth like Pilate, 
he will probably forfeit his chance for heaven. 
But, if he lends a willing ear to the truth, the 
voice of truth will continue : " As vou sow, 
so shall you reap. — Eternal misery to him who 
betrays his conscience to the last. Eternal hap- 
piness to him, who hears the truth and follows 



EXTERNAL WORKS OF GOD 257 

it. — While there is life there is hope ; but after 
death comes the judgment." Prompted by the 
fear of hell and the desire of heaven the sinner 
murmurs in his dejection: "I wish I could; 
but I can not." Truth exhorts : '^ Then 
turn to God and ask His help! He alone can 
help you now; and He is interested in you as 
your Maker." The sinner obeys. Impelled 
by his natural desire for happiness and his in- 
born fear of misery, the sinner turns to God 
for the first time in his life and prays : " Pity ! 
Mercy ! Help ! " That prayer not only touches 
the heart of the God of goodness, love, and 
mercy, but it also gives Him the proximate oc- 
casion of championing the cause of that sinner, 
the opportunity for which He anxiously waited 
from eternity. Up to this, according to His 
plan, He had to content Himself by manifesting 
Plis eagerness to help : '' Behold, I stand at 
the gate and knock" (Apoc. iii. 20). Up to 
this the sinner had exercised what dominion he 
had over his actions to wander farther and 
farther away from God. But at the instant he 
turned a willing ear to the voice of truth, he 
began to turn to the eternal Truth, and in Him 
found light and encouragement. As soon, then, 
as he paused in his pursuit of sin to entertain 
the good desire which the truth stimulated, and 



258 TEE SUPERNATURAL ORDER 

to ask God's help, thus submitting for once to 
the motive, plan, and purpose of the Creator, 
God instantly availed Himself of the oppor- 
tunity to lead the sinner the first step on the 
way to repentance. What else could God mean 
when He says : " Turn to Me, and I will turn 
to you" (Zach. i. 3). "Be converted to Me, 
and you shall be saved '' (Is. xlv. 22). " Ask, 
and it shall be given you: seek and you shall 
find : knock and it shall be opened unto you '' 
(Matt, vii. 7). Surely, the Saviour acted en- 
tirely in accordance with this teaching, when 
on a similar occasion He replied to the prayer 
of the penitent thief : " Amen, I say to thee, 
this day thou shalt be with Me in paradise " 
(Luke xxiii. 43). 

If, then, the sinner continues to pray and to 
cultivate the friendship of God, and so offers 
God a constant opportunity to aid him, God 
will draw on the infinite treasures of His grace 
to give the sinner light and counsel, strength 
and support, hope and confidence, until the fet- 
ters of sin are broken, until the fleshy the world, 
and the devil are conquered, until the soul has 
found peace and comfort in repentant love and 
fidelity in God's service. Yes, so eagerly does 
God desire the salvation of every soul, accord- 
ing to the teaching of St. Thomas and St. Al- 



EXTERNAL WORKS OF GOD 259 

phonsus, that He will send an angel from 
heaven, if necessary, in answer to the prayer of 
a soul in distress to lead her on the way to 
truth and happiness. 

6. God's Government of the Just. 

The advantages of the conflict between the 
powers for good and the powers for evil are all 
in man's favor when he is at peace with God. 
In that condition the natural longing of man 
for happiness has found comfort in the friend- 
ship of his Maker, and a means of expression 
in the habits of prayer and devotion. Be- 
sides, sanctifying grace, and all that goes with 
it, inclines man strongly to God in the super- 
natural order, for in addition to living in the 
grace of God his mind is enlightened, his will 
strengthened in doing good, while his heart 
has become the temple of the Blessed Trinity 
itself. 

Let us now consider the just man placed in 
the dilemma of a serious temptation. To em- 
phasize man's decisive influence on his action, 
let us say, on the one hand, that the flesh, the 
world, and the devil have united in the attack, 
at a very opportune time, and under every other 
favorable circumstance. Let us say, on the 
other hand, that man is taken unawares by the 



260 TEE SUPERNATURAL ORDER 

assault, that is, that the spiritual powers we 
have just enumerated were dormant, or not in 
actual use when the assault was made. Xow, 
we may know how the conflict will begin; but 
we can not tell how it will develop or end, as 
that depends on the choice or decision of that 
man's free AvilL For the sake of emphasis we 
mav admit that the enemies of his soul had ad- 
vanced to the veiy sanctuaiy of that man's 
heart, and had aroused the sympathy of his 
natural delectation, before his mind realized 
the danger he was in. But the instant it 
realizes the danger, conscience gives the alarm. 
Then, man, prompted both by the natural habit 
of friendship for God, and especially by the 
supernatural habit of sanctifying grace, and 
perhaps by actual grace, which he may receive 
as the result of having prayed and received the 
sacraments in the past, or because he co-operated 
with gTace in some earlier temptation, or showed 
himself gTateful for past favors, or finally as a 
token of God's love and solicitude, either turns 
to God in fear and trembling, and asks His 
help by prayer, or he dilly-dallies with the 
temptation. For, as the central figure in the 
conflict, he can not hold himself neutral, neither 
can he conquer so terrible a temptation by his 
own unaided strength; this, his instinct, his 



EXTERNAL W0RE8 OF GOD 261 

prudence, and perhaps his past experience as- 
sure him. If he prays he adopts the motive, 
plan, and purpose of God by that very cry for 
help, and surrenders himself to the influence 
of grace, or places the proximate condition for 
God and His angels to espouse his caiise. If, 
then, he does what he can, God will enable him 
to do what he can not do of himself, as the Coun- 
cil of Trent teaches, that is, triumph over the 
temptation. 

But if that man does not turn to God in that 
temptation with promptness and decision, the 
forces of evil will grow in strength and press 
the assault to a crisis. Even then grace will 
still triumph, if, by humble prayer, that man 
gives God the opportunity of taking him under 
His protection. In fact, the God of goodness 
and love actually seems to plead for this occasion 
by the voice of that man's conscience, by the in- 
fluence of his guardian angel, and even by the 
inspiration of grace. " Can you think of be- 
traying Me for so base a gratification as the 
flesh, the world, or the devil can offer ? '' He 
asks. '' I made you to my own image and like- 
ness. I have put in your heart a longing which 
I alone can satisfy. Oh, do not give up your 
right to heaven, do not damn your soul to hell ! 
Despise the pleasures of sense, at least when 



262 TEE SUPERyATURAL ORDER 

they conflict with the nobler pleasures of the 
soul. Fear not the ridicule of the world; the 
world has nothing in common with Me. Do 
not give your soul to Satan. Satan does not 
love you ; he hates you, and he seeks your ruin. 
But I love you. I have loved you with an 
everlasting love. I have proven my love for 
you by giving you all you have.'' '* Behold 
My hands and My feet/' the Saviour says. 
*' They were pierced with nails for your sake. 
Will you nail Me anew to the cross by commit- 
ting mortal sin? Behold, My Heart is open 
to receive you, and to shelter you from all dan- 
ger. Do not, then, betray Me like Judas ! Do 
not prefer Barabbas to Me, as did the Jews of 
old. Be not incredulous, but believing." 

If still that man neglects to pray, he vrill lose 
in the conflict, even though he had seemed con- 
firmed in grace. Blinded by passion, and weak- 
ened by the assault, he is now left to his own 
strength by that God who said : " He that lov- 
eth danger shall perish in it" (Eccles. iii. 27). 
In this condition he fizially yields to the temp- 
tation, and deliberately prefers a sinful gi*ati-^ 
fication to the love and friendship of God. By^ 
this free detennination that man, once just, 
but now the slave of Satan and a child of perdi- 
tion, places the proximate occasion for an action 



TEE PERMANENT ASSISTANCE OF GOD 263 

that not only offends God grievously, but forces 
Him as the First Cause and Prime Mover to 
co-operate. For man's liberty consists pre- 
cisely in determining the quality of his choice. 
As long as he has life he must act; he can not 
remain neutral or inactive. In proportion as 
he freely conforms to the motive, plan, and 
purpose of God, he advances toward perfec- 
tion. In proportion as he follows his own, he 
deifies himself. In proportion as he drifts 
through life, he surrenders himself to his pas- 
sions. 

III. THE PEEMANENT ASSISTANCE 
GOD GIVES MAN. 

The permanent assistance which God gives 
man to work out his destiny is partly of the 
natural order, partly of the supernatural order, 
and partly of a mixed nature. As nature is 
the foundation for grace or supernatural assist- 
ance, all three are usually united in actual life. 
For the sake of clearness we shall consider them 
individually. The natural assistance which 
God has ordained for man consists of an in- 
nate desire for an infinite good, of an innate 
desire of truth and virtue, and the parental in- 
fluence of instruction and good example. The 
assistance of a mixed nature arc conscience and 



264 THE SUPERNATURAL ORDER 

vocation. We call them mixed, because, 
though founded in nature, they attain their 
maturity only when enlightened and strength- 
ened by grace. The permanent assistance 
which God gives man in the supernatural order 
are: the Ministry of the Church, the Com- 
munion of Saints, Sanctifying Gr'ace, the In- 
fused Virtues, and the Gifts of the Holy Ghost. 

1. The Desire of Happiness. 

God implanted a desire for happiness so 
deeply in the human heart that not even the 
ravages of original sin have destroyed it. It 
is found in every heart. It impels man ever 
onward. It gives him no lasting peace, no per- 
manent rest. We may consider this desire of 
happiness in itself, in its influence on man's 
actions, and in its bearing on man's relation- 
ship to God. 

Considered in itself this desire of happiness 
is a vague longing for an endless possession and 
fruition of an infinite good under circumstances 
so congenial that it can be found only in heaven. 

When considered in its influence on man's 
life this desire for happiness is the general mo- 
tive-power of his actions, for ultimately both 
saint and sinner seek their happiness in all they 
do, even though the means they employ or the 



THE PERMANENT ASSISTANCE OF GOD 265 

methods they follow are diametrically opposed 
to one another. Besides being the motive- 
power of human action this innate desire of 
happiness is also the soul of man's moral habits. 
It impels him towards God, the infinite Good, in 
the practice of virtue, and gives man peace of 
heart in proportion as he exerts himself. 
When misguided by an erroneous judgment or 
influenced by passion, it likewise hurries man 
on the way to perdition, and warns him by the 
sting of remorse the farther he strays away from 
the Infinite Good. And, as reaction is equal 
to action, this same desire of happiness likewise 
influences the repentant soul in his detestation, 
contrition, and atonement for sin. 

This innate desire of happiness is the nat- 
ural means by which God prompts man to 
action, and draws him toward Himself. In the 
supernatural order it becomes the way along 
which grace conducts man to the greatest meas- 
ure of happiness on earth and to the possession 
and fruition of the infinite Good in heaven. 

2. The Desire of Truth and Virtue. 

We have just seen how man's innate long- 
ing for happiness or universal longing for what 
is good survived original sin and impels man 
to action. Now, as every good is essentially 



266 TEE SUPERXATURAL ORDER 

true and beautiful, this impulse for happiness 
or possession and enjovment of the good be- 
comes at the same time a desire for truth and 
virtue. Hence, this desire for truth and virtue 
originally implanted in human nature likewise 
survives the corruption of original sin. " The 
human mind was made for the enjoyment of 
truth and the human heart for the adornment 
of virtue. Desire of truth makes man sincere, 
desire of virtue makes him a lover of moral 
beauty. By the cultivation of these two qual- 
ities man at the same time satisfies his innate 
longing for the possession and enjoyment of 
what is good, has the greatest amount of himian 
happiness, and becomes acceptable to God. By 
deliberately acting contraiy to them, he loses 
his peace of mind and heart, becomes unfit for 
the elevating influence of gi^ace, and deserves 
the condemnation which Jesus pronounced 
upon the conduct of the Pharisees. 

3. Parental Influence. 

Another natural assistance which God has 
ordained for man is parental influence. Dur- 
ing the most impressionable period of his 
life man is dependent on his parents. Even 
though these be far from perfect themselves, 
thev will instinctivelv teach the child the best 



TEE PERMANENT ASSISTANCE OP GOD 267 

they can botli by word and by example. To 
make this good influence of parents deep and 
lasting, God has ordained that the child, with 
its innate desire of truth and virtue, should 
unconsciously idealize its parents at this stage 
of its existence as the personification of knowl- 
edge, wisdom, and virtue. 

As the child advances in life devoted parents 
will shield its growth in truth and virtue by 
protecting it against contamination from play- 
mates and companions. In proportion as the 
child passes from the influence of its parents 
it will be sustained in its desire of truth and 
virtue by the memory of their teaching and ex- 
ample, and strengthened against the evil influ- 
ence of the world by the dictates of a delicate 
conscience. 

4. Conscience. 

Conscience is the dictate of reason regard- 
ing the morality of human actions. It pro- 
claims the law of God engraven on every hu- 
man heart. Though essentially a gift of the 
natural order, conscience attains its full accu- 
racy and vigor only when enlightened and 
strengthened by grace. Conscience is the ap- 
plication of man's innate desire of truth and vir- 
tue to the circumstances of daily life. It 
judges of the goodness, the truth, and the 



268 TEE SUPERNATURAL ORDER 

beauty, or the moral integrity of an action, and 
urges man to do the right and to avoid the 
wrong. In proportion as its dictates are 
obeyed does conscience impart to man a sweet- 
ness or peace of heart, which is the assurance 
that he has taken another step towards God, 
the infinite Good. On the other hand, the 
more its dictates are ignored, the more will 
conscience rebuke man and fill him with re- 
morse. It will give him no rest until he re- 
turns to a normal cultivation of his innate de- 
sire of happiness by the pursuit of truth and 
the practice of virtue. 

If a child has been taught to love truth and 
virtue through the influence of its parents, it 
will experience gTcat joy at the dawn of reason, 
when the dictates of its own conscience will 
confirm its veneration of father and mother. 
But, if they were remiss in its education or 
brought it up in evil ways, it will not only con- 
demn them in later life but will have great dif- 
ficulty in establishing true standards of right 
and wrong, and may even labor under a serious 
disadvantage throughout life. 

5. Vocation. 

By His wise and benign foresight God has 
made provision for the minutest details enter- 



THE PERMANENT ASSISTANCE OF GOD 269 

ing into tlie economy of the creation, govern- 
ment, and consummation of the world. In His 
nniversal plan He has not only provided a place 
for every creature, bnt has made every creature 
to fill its particular place in the universal plan. 
God has, besides, implanted in every creature a 
tendency to work out its destiny in that place. 
In man this tendency is an inclination of his 
innate desire of good to seek his happiness in a 
particular state in life. In the supernatural 
order this inclination is called vocation. 

When a soul has had the advantages of a 
Catholic home, and has remained true to the 
dictates of conscic ^jO in childhood, its innate 
love of truth gradually imbues it with a spirit 
of faith, while its love of virtue becomes instru- 
mental in preserving its purity of heart. As it 
advances on the journey of life, the light of 
grace sooner or later makes it conscious of its 
preference for a particular state in life, and 
inclines it to seek its happiness by serving God 
in that state. 

Every Catholic should seek and follow his 
vocation for two reasons. In the first place it 
is the state in life for which God has fitted and 
destined a person. In the second place it is the 
state in which God has destined to bestow on 
that person the benefits of His special provi- 



270 THE SUPERNATURAL ORDER 

dence, and the full measure of His grace. For 
these reasons, also, a soul may sanctify herself 
with an ordinary good will when following her 
vocation, whereas an heroic good will may not 
suffice, if she, like the young man in the Gospel, 
turns away from her vocation with full deliber- 
ation. 

To be happy in any vocation man must be 
actuated by a spirit of faith in following it, 
cheerfully make the sacrifices his state in life 
demand*, and pray perseveringly that God may 
sustain him^ guide him, and crown his efforts 
with final perseverance. 

6. The Ministry of the Church. 

In the ministry of the Church man receives 
the supernatural assistance established by Jesus 
Christ. In holy Baptism he is cleansed from 
original sin, made a child of God, a member of 
Christ's mystical body, and coheir with Him 
to heaven. He is given divine certainty of the 
truths he must believe, and the virtues he must 
practise, and the means he must use to attain 
happiness by knowing, loving, and serving God. 
Through the ministry of the Church he is ena- 
bled to offer God a worthy sacrifice, while his 
soul is freed from the malady of sin, nour- 
ished with the Bread of Life, and filled with the 



THE PERMANENT ASSISTANCE OF GOD 271 

gifts of the Holy Ghost. Here he receives sym- 
l^athy, counsel, and encouragement in health, 
becomes the object of the Church's tenderest so- 
licitude in sickness and in death, is refreshed 
in purgatory, and helped to the beatitude of the 
elect. 

7. The Communion of Saints. 

Through the Communion of Saints God gives 
man a twofold assistance: the guidance of an 
angel guardian, and the protection of patron 
saints. The guardian angels exercise their 
power negatively, by protecting man against 
the influence of Satan, the allurements and 
scorn of the world, and his own pride and sen- 
suality. They exercise their power positively 
by effacing the memory of dangerous impres- 
sions from his imagination, by causing salutary 
impressions to be deep and lasting, by giving 
man a relish for spiritual things, and by these 
means to work on his innate longing for hap- 
pinesSj to incline and stimulate him in the prac- 
tice of virtue. 

The saints in heaven retain a personal inter- 
est in what concerned them specially while on 
earth, and in what has since been specially ded- 
icated to them. Thus, Mary, as Mother of the 
Eedeemer, is personally interested in the sal- 



272 TEE SUPERNATURAL ORDER 

vation of all for whom she sacrificed her divine 
Son. Thusj also, is St. Joseph, the head of 
the Holy Family, the natural protector of the 
Church on earth, which is composed of the 
brethren of Christ and the children of Mary. 
So, likewise, is St. Michael, the standard-bearer 
of the good angels, appropriately commissioned 
the guardian spirit of the Catholic Church. 
Besides, individual dioceses, cities, parishes, 
and persons are placed by Holy Church under 
the special protection of particular saints, that 
they, who are united to us by divine charity, 
may enable us by their influence and example 
to find happiness in pleasing God in all things. 

8. Sanctifying Grace. 

Sanctifying grace is a divine quality, ef- 
fected and maintained in the soul by the in- 
dwelling of the Blessed Trinity, which imparts 
to it a supernatural life and distinction. As 
the incandescent lamp, when charged with elec- 
tricity, radiates light and heat, so the soul, when 
born again of water and the Holy Ghost, be- 
comes bright and pleasing in the sight of God. 
And as the incandescent lamp assumes the qual- 
ities of electricity when charged with it, so 
sanctifying grace imparts a divine quality to 
the soul. This divine quality, as St. Peter 



THE PERMANENT ASSISTANCE OF GOD 273 

says, makes us partakers of the divine nature 
(2 Peter i. 4). For, as man by his supernat- 
ural destiny receives the jDotentiality of union 
with God, and by his innate craving for happi- 
ness is impelled towards God, so sanctifying 
grace gives him divine life or makes it possible 
for him to co-operate with God. It makes it 
possible for man to be actuated by the love of 
God, to promote His glory, to do His holy will, 
and thus to be just and holy in His sight as 
God is just and holy by nature, and eventually, 
as heir to the kingdom of heaven, to see and to 
taste how good He is, even as God now sees and 
delights in His ineffable perfection. 

Sanctifying grace is likewise called habitual 
grace because it inheres permanently in the 
very nature of the soul and makes it a worthy 
temple of the living God. It is essentially dis- 
tinct from the infused virtues, however, which 
inhere in the faculties of the soul and make it 
possible for man to act in the supernatural or- 
der. 

Sanctifying grace is also called the grace of 
justification, because it frees man from the 
slavery of sin and Satan, gives him spiritual 
life, and makes him a child of God. It is ob- 
tained by a worthy reception of the sacraments 
of Baptism and Penance, or, when that is im- 



274 TEE SUPERNATURAL ORDER 

possible, by perfect sorrow for sin, united to an 
ardent desire to do all that God has ordained 
for man's salvation. To receive it an adult 
should ordinarily (1) make acts of faith, hope, 
charity, and contrition; (2) have the desire of 
receiving this grace; (3) and form the resolu- 
tion of beginning a new life and of keeping the 
commandments. The peculiarities of sancti- 
fying grace are (1) that without a special reve- 
lation no man can have divine certainty of pos- 
sessing it; (2) that it is increased at every act 
of virtue; (3) that it is lost by every mortal 
sin. 

As God is the Author of sanctifying grace, 
so is He also the efficient cause of its increase, 
as He is indeed of the entire spiritual life. 
The increase of sanctifying grace consists in 
its taking deeper root in the soul, or in a more 
intimate adhesion to the nature of the soul. 
It is effected by God in proportion and to the 
extent that man, by self-discipline and surren- 
der to God, becomes more and more submissive 
to the influence of grace in the practice of vir- 
tue. 

9. The Divine Adoption. 

The divine adoption is a relationship estab- 
lished by God between man and the three per- 
sons of the Blessed Trinity. By this relation- 



TEE PERMANENT ASSISTANCE OF GOD 275 

ship man receives God the Father as his spirit- 
ual Father, God the Son as his elder Brother, 
and God the Holy Ghost as the Sanctifier of his 
soul. When man is in the state of grace this 
relationship makes him the beloved child of the 
heavenly Father, the coheir with the Son to 
heaven, and the living temple of the Holy 
Ghost. 

To live in accordance with this relationship 
man should cultivate (1) a filial confidence in 
the goodness, love, and mercy of his heavenly 
Father; (2) a brotherly love and devotion to- 
wards Jesus Christ, who earned for him every 
blessing; (3) and an im dying good will towards 
the Holy Ghost by co-operating in the work of 
his sanctification. 

10. The Sacraments, 

The sacraments are fountains of grace estab- 
lished by Jesus Christ. There are seven sacra- 
ments: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucha- 
rist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, 
and Matrimony. They supply the seven spir- 
itual wants of mankind, which are: (1) spir- 
itual life; (2) the perfection of spiritual life; 
(3) nourishment for the spiritual life; (4) a 
remedy for spiritual disease and death; (5) 
special provision for the journey to eternity; 



276 TEE SUPERNATURAL ORDER 

(6) authority and strength to minister in the 
name of Christ; (7) special grace to bring up 
children for heaven. 

Baptism and Penance give sanctifying grace, 
while the others increase it in the soul. All 
the sacraments, besides, confer sacramental 
grace, which is a right to those actual graces 
that are necessary to attain the end for which 
Our Lord instituted each sacrament. 

11. The Infused Virtues. 

The supernatural virtues which God imparts 
to the soul with sanctifying grace are the theo- 
logical virtues of faith, hope, and charity, and 
the moral virtues of prudence, justice, tem- 
perance, and fortitude. The infused virtues 
elevate man's faculties to a divine plane, the 
theological virtues enabling man to unite him- 
self to God, and the moral virtues to act in har- 
mony with Him. Thus faith empowers man 
to view the economy of God's work from the 
true, immutable, eternal standpoint of his heav- 
enly Father, while hope gives him the confi- 
dence and courage necessary to face the prob- 
lems of time and eternity as a child of God, and 
charity .helps him to live in union with God 
amid all the labors and trials of life. In the 
same way prudence enables man to take coun- 



TEE PERMANENT ASSISTANCE OF GOD 277 

sel, to judge, and to determine by the light of 
faithj justice to be fair with God, his neigh- 
bor and himself, fortitude to labor and endure 
as a follower of his crucified Master, and tem- 
perance to keep his place at all times while pur- 
suing his destiny according to the plan of God. 
There is a threefold difference between the 
natural cardinal virtues and the infused moral 
virtues, which supernaturalize them. (1) The 
former man can acquire by his unaided will; 
the latter are always the gifts of God. (2) 
The former man may practise for their own 
sake ; the latter must be animated by love for 
God. (3) The former he can develop by a 
persevering good will, the latter, God intensi- 
fies in proportion as man places the proximate 
occasion, or gives Him the opportunity, by try- 
ing to act in harmony with Him. 

12. The Gifts of the Holy Ghost. 

The gifts of the Holy Ghost are certain hab- 
its infused by God to facilitate the operations 
of the infused virtues, and thereby to sustain 
man when acting in union with Him. They 
consist in a kind of spiritual instinct which en- 
ables man to detect the promptings of actual 
grace readily, and to co-operate cheerfully with 
them. They are the crowning grace of God's 



278 TEE SUPERNATURAL ORDER 

permanent assistance to man, and bring him 
into perfect harmony with his heavenly Father. 

There are seven gifts of the Holy Ghost : wis- 
dom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, forti- 
tude, piety, and fear of the Lord. The first 
four perfect the Christian mind, the last three 
endow the Christian will. Wisdom enables 
man to know and take delight in God. Like a 
luminous flame understanding sheds light on 
the truths of faith and the mysteries of reli- 
gion. Knowledge enables man to rise to God 
by means of His creatures, while counsel points 
out the best means of union with God by doing 
His holy will in all things. Fortitude enables 
man to triumph over every obstacle to his union 
with the Infinite Good. Piety makes him 
childlike towards God, and fraternal to the rest 
of mankind. And, finally, the fear of the 
Lord cultivates so delicate a conscience in him, 
that he will avoid even the shadow of evil lest 
he tarnish his soul and offend the God of infi- 
nite love. 

As St. John saw '' the tree of life, bearing 
twelve fruits" (Apoc. xxii. 2), so St. Paul as- 
sures us the Holy Spirit produces twelve fruits 
in every soul that co-operates with His gifts. 
These fruits are so many steps on our way to 
nnion with God by which " the Spirit himself 



THE TRANSIENT ASSISTANCE OF GOD 279 

giveth testimony to our spirit, that we are the 
soiikS of God '^ (Bom. viii. 16). ^^ The fruit 
of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, 
benignity, goodness, longanimity, mildness, 
faith, modesty, continency, chastity " ( Gal. v. 
22-23). 

IV. THE TRANSIENT ASSISTANCE GOD 
GIVES MAN. 

Besides the permanent assistance, which we 
have just considered, God also gives man tran- 
sient assistance on the pilgrimage of life. The 
object of this divine assistance is to aid man in 
performing supernatural actions. This tran- 
sient assistance is divided into the dispensations 
of Divine Providence and actual grace. The 
former gives man the opportunity to do the good 
God requires of him, the latter gives him the 
necessary help to perform it. 

1. The Dispensations of Divine Providence. 

The dispensations of Divine Providence are 
the application of God's paternal solicitude to 
the details of man\s life. In a wide sense they 
embrace both the natural guidance of Provi- 
dence as well as the supernatural economy 
of grace or predestinationo In a more re- 
stricted sense, however, the dispensations of 



280 TEE SUPERNATURAL ORDER 

Divine Providence consist of the natural com- 
bination of minute circumstances, which fill 
in the details of man's life, and which 
God positively ordains or passively tolerates, 
and by means of which He gives man the op- 
portunity to do that good which He ex- 
pects of him. Taken in this sense the dispen- 
sations of Divine Providence are sometimes 
also called external graces, though in reality 
they only furnish the occasion for God to give 
man actual grace. 

We may consider the dispensations of Di- 
vine Providence in their universal application 
to mankind, in their special application to ev- 
ery individual soul, and in their most spe- 
cial application to those souls whom God has 
destined to fill a particular place in His divine 
plan. The general dispensations of Divine 
Providence establish man in his place in God's 
plan and ordain his relationship to the rest of 
the world. The special, as well as the most 
special, dispensations of Divine Providence con- 
duct all of good will to that state in life for 
which God has destined them, provide them 
with the special qualifications necessary, and 
give them the opportunities necessary to do 
God's holy will in all things. 

The dispensations of Divine Providence 



TEE TRANSIENT ASSISTANCE OP GOD 281 

must permit involuntary temptations as oppor- 
tunities for practising virtue. They co-operate 
positively, and sometimes marvelously, in 
man's virtuous actions. And though they must 
tolerate some sinful deeds, they frequently use 
even these to teach man mistrust of self, confi- 
dence in God, and the necessity of making per- 
severing efforts to work out his salvation. 

2. Actual Grace. 

Actual grace is a virtuous impulse which God 
gives man to act in the supernatural order. As 
a spark of electricity imparts light, warmth, 
and energy, so actual grace illumines the mind, 
inspires the will, and heals the wounds of sin. 
It illumines the mind to see the truth, the good, 
the moral beauty, as well as the opportunity 
of doing something pleasing to God, the infinite 
Good, by a particular virtuous action. It in- 
spires or moves the will, already inclined to 
good in general by its innate desire of happi- 
ness, to embrace this opportunity. And by its 
energy it heals the wounds of sin, that may im- 
pede or prevent man from performing this par- 
ticular act of virtue, and, if he is not in sancti- 
fying grace, it supernaturalizes him for the 
time and to the extent necessary for liim to ask 
God's help and by means of prayer to obtain 



282 THE SUPERyATURAL ORDER 

every other divine aid necessary for him to 
know, love, and sei-ve God. 

Chronologically actual grace is divided into 
stirmdating and co-operating. The first vir- 
tuous impulse vrhich God gives man in the su- 
pernatural order is called stimulating grace, be- 
cause it awakens man to the opportunity, and 
inclines him to an act of virtue. The second 
virtuous impulse is called co-operating grace, 
because, as soon as the will freely yields to the 
suggestion of stimulating grace by inclining to 
this particular virtuous action, God grants an 
additional grace, which co-operates in man's 
action by sustaining, confirming, and crowning 
his efforts with success. 

In the order of causation stimulating grace 
is called remotely sufficient grace because it suf- 
fices to enable man to pray, and through prayer 
to obtain every other gTace. In the same sense 
co-operating grace is also called proximately 
sufficient grace because it is always sufficient 
to enable man to perform the action for which 
it is given. "When given to a person of good 
will it may be so efficacious by the intensity 
of its light and impulse as not only to sustain 
and confirm his good will, but even efficaciously 
to determine and morally to impel him to a 
particular act of virtue. 



THE TRANSIENT ASSISTANCE OF GOD 283 

Finallj, stimulating grace is sometimes 
called a light and an inspiration of the Holy 
Ghost because it always prompts man to act in 
accordance with the gifts of the Holy Ghost. 

Remotely sufficient grace corresponds to the 
general dispensations of Divine Providence, 
which God extends to all mankind. Proxi- 
mately sufficient grace and efficacious grace, on 
the other hand, correspond to the special dispen- 
sations of Divine Providence, and are granted 
partly because God destined a person for a par- 
ticular place in His plan, but never unless — 
and mostly because that person is following the 
promptings of grace in the choice of his voca- 
tion or is endeavoring to fulfil the duties of 
his state in life conscientiously. 

There are five properties of actual grace that 
deserve our special consideration. They arfe: 
Necessity, Gratuity, Universality, Inequality, 
and Efficacy. 

a. Grace is necessary in a fourfold way. 
(1) Man needs the light of grace to find the 
truth. Though he can learn many things in 
the natural order by persevering application, 
he needs the help of God to master all human 
science. " For the corruptible body is a load 
upon the soul, and the earthly habitation press- 
eth down the mind that muscth upon many 



284 TEE BVPERl^ATXJRAL ORDER 

things'' (Wis. ix. 15). In the supernatural 
order actual grace must enlighten man's mind 
and prompt his ^vill before he can accept the 
traths of divine revelation. " Xo man can 
come to Me/' says the Saviour, '' except the 
Father, who hath sent Me, draw him " (John 
vi. 44). (2) Man needs actual grace to do 
good. It is true that in the natural order man 
can of himself do some good, but he can not 
keep the entire natural law without the grace of 
God. Much less can he of himself do good 
supeniaturallv, that is in a way meritorious 
for heaven. For the Saviour says: ^^ With- 
out Me you can do nothing" (John xv. 5). 
(3) Man needs the grace to overcome tempta- 
tion. By his unaided strength man can over- 
come the lesser, but not the graver temptations 
of life. ^^ As I knew I could not otherwise be 
continent, except the Lord gave it: I went to 
the Lord, and besought Him" (Wis. viii. 21). 
Hence, man needs the help of actual grace to 
avoid mortal sin, and though he can avoid some 
venial faults of himself, he requires the most 
special help of God to avoid all deliberate venial 
sin. (4) Finally, man needs the gi-ace of 
God to persevere in doing good. Perseverance 
may be considered as temporal and as final. 



THE TRANSIENT ASSISTANCE OF GOD 285 

In either case grace is necessary to persevere. 
Fidelity to one grace neither confirms man in 
gracCj nor ends his earthly trial. Actual gi-ace 
is as necessary for the second step in the spirit- 
ual life as for the first. Man will receive it at 
every step in proportion as he is faithful to 
grace in the present, grateful for the graces re- 
ceived in the past, and makes use of the means 
of grace. 

Final perseverance, or perseverance in the 
grace of God till death, is a special favor which 
can be obtained only by persevering prayer. 
Three things unite to produce final persever- 
ance: sanctifying grace, the special dispensa- 
tions of Divine Providence, and a chain of 
actual graces. Man obtains the first through 
Baptism, sacramental absolution, perfect con- 
trition and perfect love of God. He secures 
the second by embracing the state in life to 
which God has called him, by fulfilling the du- 
ties of his state in life, by submitting to the 
guidance of Providence, and by obeying the in- 
spirations of grace. Though man can never 
merit a single grace, much less the chain of 
graces necessary to persevere in God's friend- 
ship until death, he can obtain this priceless 
grace by fidelity and persevering prayer. 



286 TEE SUPERNATURAL ORDER 

b. Grace is always a gratuitous gift of God. 
" It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that 
runneth, but of God that showeth mercy '' 
{Rom, ix. 16). St. Augustine, in writing 
against certain heretics of his day who denied 
the gratuity of grace, remarks : '^ Why is it 
called grace? Because it is given gratis. 
And why is it given gratis ? Not because your 
merits precede it, but because the blessings of 
God precede you.'^ From this we see that even 
the good dispositions whereby we submit our- 
selves to the influence of grace are not to be 
ascribed to our natural good will, but to a pre- 
ceding grace which has enlightened the mind and 
inclined the will toward God. 

c. Grace is universal. God gives sufficient 
grace for salvation to every one. According to 
the parable in the Gospel, He gives every serv- 
ant at least one talent. Man is ordinarily pre- 
pared for this talent by parental influence and 
the ministry of the Church. Where this ex- 
ternal assistance is wanting God brings man to 
a knowledge of the truths necessary for salva- 
tion by the special guidance of His Providence, 
and stimulates his mind and will by actual 
grace. If man, then, follows the dictates of 
his conscience in all sincerity, the influence of 



THE TRANSIENT ASSISTANCE OF GOD 287 

grace and the dispensations of Divine Provi- 
dence will conduct him eventually to the knowl- 
edge of the truth and the possession of all the 
other blessings of a child of God. Hence, St. 
Thomas teaches that if necessary God would 
send an angel to show a person of good will 
the way to heaven. 

In the distribution of grace (1) God gives ac- 
tual grace in sufficient measure to be truly and 
relatively sufficient for all to keep out of mortal 
sin. ^' God is faithful, who will not suffer you 
to be tempted above that which you are able " 
(1 Cor. X. 13). (2) By the special dispensation 
of His Providence God makes the circumstances 
of time and place favorable at least once for 
even the most hardened sinner to accept the 
grace to pray, and follows this up with the grace 
of conversion in proportion as the sinner co- 
operates. (3) God not only offers but actually 
gives sufficient grace for salvation to all sin- 
ners. (4) To the imbeliever God gives at least 
the grace to pray, and^ as we have seen, follows 
this up with other graces in proportion as they 
are appreciated. (5) Even for the children that 
die without Baptism either from some natural 
cause or through the fault of parents God had 
prepared sufficient grace. For '' God wills all 



288 TEE SUPERNATURAL ORDER 

men to be saved and come to the knowledge of 
the truth '' (1 Tim. ii. 4) and " Christ died for 
air^ (2 Cor. v. 15). 

d. The inequality in the distribution of grace 
arises from a twofold source, the inequality of 
glory to which God has destined persons, and 
the inequality of good will with which different 
persons and nations co-operate with grace. As 
there are various choirs of angels in heaven, so 
God has destined souls to different degrees of 
sanctity and glory. Practically speaking, how- 
ever, the inequality of good will in mankind ac- 
counts most for the inequality in the distribu- 
tion of grace. For, among all mankind the 
blessed Virgin Mary alone had the good will to 
co-operate perfectly with the grace of God every 
moment of her life, while even one of the 
Apostles was eternally lost on account of his bad 
wilL 

The fact is that the best of us have squan- 
dered enough grace to make saints out of the 
worst of us if they had eagerly received and co- 
operated generously and perseveringly with it. 
In the universality of grace we considered the 
least God can do in promoting the sanctifica- 
tion of mankind. The most that He will do to 
bring all to conform to His divine plan may be 
estimated from the work of the creation and 



TEE TRANSIENT ASSISTANCE OP GOD 289 

the work of the redemption, where He did all 
that an all wise and all good God could do to 
ensure the sanctification of all of good will. 
As God asked about His conduct toward the 
Jews of old, so He can justly ask of every soul 
that is lost: '^ What is there that I ought to do 
more to my vineyard, that I have not done to 
it?'' (Is. V. 4.) 

e. The efficacy of grace likewise corre- 
sponds partly to the special design of God, as in 
the conversion of St. Paul, and partly to the 
special co-operation of man to a previous grace, 
as in the conversion of St. Ignatius Loyola. In 
fact, though '' the heart of the king is in the 
hand of the Lord " (Prov. xxi. 1) God does not 
grant an efficacious grace to a person whose 
mind is insincere, or whose will pertinacious. 
Thus, St. Paul, though laboring under a serious 
delusion, was sincere and zealous when he ar- 
rived at the gate of Damascus. Thus, also, 
the good thief was evidently sincere and of good 
will, and probably never heard the Saviour 
mentioned favorably, till he saw Him dying at 
his side. If St. Augustine, St. Bernard, St. 
Ignatius, and countless others, whom God had 
destined to a prominent position in His plan, 
had turned against the stimulating influence of 
the first grace they received, even as Pontius 



290 THE SUPERNATURAL ORDER 

Pilate deliberately turned away from the truth, 
they might have become reprobates, instead of 
great saints with a special mission on earth. 

Efficacious grace in no way destroys free will, 
but perfects good will by giving " the increase " 
(1 Cor. iii. 6), by crowning the sincere mind 
and honest effort of man with efficient and in- 
fallible success. As grace always harmonizes 
with nature, efficacious grace influences man 
morally by enlightening his mind so clearly on 
the truth, the goodness, and the beauty of a par- 
ticular virtuous action, and by stimulating his 
will so palpably towards it through his innate 
desire of happiness, through fear of the Lord, 
through hope of reward, through esteem for vir- 
tue, and through love for God, that his sluggish 
will embraces it with a determination that over- 
comes all obstacles and is crowned with success. 

As efficacious grace, so essential to salvation 
and sanctification, is obtained by prayer, we 
should concentrate our efforts on using the 
means of grace and co-operating with the same. 
For, thereby we ensure not only our election 
but also our predestination, and may be privi- 
leged to receive the greater graces which others 
have misused, as Matthias succeeded to the 
apostolate of Judas Iscariot. 



SECTION 11. 

THE DIVINE INFLUENCE IN SELF- 
DENIAL— PASSIVE PURGATION. 

THE divine influence is the efficient cause of 
Christian self-denial. It enlightens the 
mind on the Way, the Truth and the Life. It 
enkindles the good desires and suggests the good 
resolutions of the heart, and thus awakens, 
stimulates, and sustains that good will whereby 
man freely surrenders himself to God. Even 
though his spiritual nature has grown languid, 
his faculties weakened, and his affections para- 
lyzed by the rebellion and dominion of his 
passions before man surrenders to God, the Holy 
Ghost is willing to help him even as our blessed 
Saviour cured all kinds of human infirmity 
while on earth. By the special dispensations 
of His Providence and the stimulating influ- 
ence of His grace, God first fills the soul that 
surrenders to His influence with the rapture of 
sensible devotion. As an anaesthetic renders 
man insensible to pain, so sensible devotion 

fills the soul with such transcending pleasure 
291 



292 DIVINE INFLUENCE 

that even amid pain and sacrifice it can exclaim 
with St. Peter at the Transfiguration: ^^Lcrd, 
it is good for iis to be here" (Matt. xvii. 4). 
While man is thus encouraged the divine infiu- 
ence prompts and sustains him in subjugating 
his lower nature to the dictates of reason, and his 
reason to the guidance of Faith. 

I. THE GEACE OF SENSIBLE 
DEVOTION. 

1. Its Nature — Spiritual Sweetness, 
Sensible devotion is that accidental feature 
of man's promptitude in God's service which 
arises from the allurement of grace and fills the 
heart with so great a measure of spiritual sweet- 
ness that it floods his sensitive nature. It is 
to the soul what the fondest caresses of a loving 
mother are to a child, or what the privilege of 
resting his head on the bosom of Jesus was to 
the beloved disciple St. John at the Last Supper. 
The grace of God operates in a threefold way 
to produce this spiritual sweetness in the soul. 
It enlightens the mind so clearly about a certain 
truth as to expel all lurking hesitation and force 
its assent by the brightness of its light. It 
warms the heart, that perhaps had been chilled 
by the coldness and hypocrisy of the world, 
with such tender affection that it melts like the 



GRACE OF SENSIBLE DEVOTION 293 

snow under the influence of the glowing sun. 
And it strengthens the soul with its divine in- 
fluence so that, like a giant, it rises above every 
obstacle and accomplishes with facility what 
was impossible before. Thus enlightened, in- 
flamed, and strengthened the soul says with St. 
Augustine : '' These have made the sacrifice, 
those have done it ; why can not I ? '^ 

Under the influence of sensible devotion man 
not only laments his past folly and weeps over 
his sins, but begins the work of reparation and 
reconstruction with an alacrity and despatch 
that corresponds with the holy enthusiasm with 
which he is filled. With the Eoyal Psalmist 
he may now exclaim : '' Who will give me the 
wings of ^ dove, and I will fly and be at rest ? " 
(Ps. liv. 7.) 

2. The Preparation — Sincere Beflection. 

" With desolation is the whole land made 
desolate," said the prophet, '' because there is 
none that considereth in the heart " (Jer. 
xii. 11). In revealing the cause of the lamen- 
table condition of the Jews before the Babylo- 
nian captivity, the prophet touched on the source 
of all religious indifference and infidelity. God 
has engraven the essential truths of religion on 
our very nature. He has also implanted in 



294 



DIVINE INFLUENCE 



every heart a longing for what is good. Fas- 
cinated by the vanities of the world^ however, 
many a soul yields to the promptings of cor- 
rupt nature, and, by pouring herself out on the 
things around her through the senses, easily 
becomes the slave of sensuality and worldly 
pride. For a longer or shorter time she seeks 
in vain for happiness in the pursuit of the fol- 
lies of life until some keen disappointment 
brings about a revulsion of feeling. Providence 
seizes upon this critical opportunity to incline 
the soul to Grod. If she listens to the prompt- 
ings of grace as they emphasize the emptiness 
of life, and the necessity of looking elsewhere 
for real happiness, the necessary truth of re- 
ligion will appeal as vital questions to her sin- 
cerity and good-will. In proportion as these 
are welcomed, will grace enkindle the desire of 
nobler things in the soul until, despising the 
world and disgusted with self, she begins to 
fear the punishment of hell, and to realize the 
brevity of time, the reality of eternity, and the 
uncertainty of death. Like the Prodigal Son, 
the soul of good-will then begins to retrace her 
steps, and she finally casts herself into the arms 
of her merciful Saviour to seek that happiness 
which He alone can give. Having learned the 
fickleness and inconstancy of human nature by 



GRACE OF SENSIBLE DEVOTION 295 

bitter experience, like St. Peter, she now cries 
out with Bartimeus : " Kabboni, that I may 
see!'' (Mark x. 51). With the Publican she 
prays : '' O God, be merciful to me a sinner " 
(Luke xviiL 13) . In all confidence she says 
with the leper : " Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou 
canst make me clean ^' (MoM. viii. 2). -With 
the young man in the Gospel she asks : '' Mas- 
ter, what good shall I do that I may have life 
everlasting?'' (Matt. xix. 16.) Encouraged 
and aided by grace that soul finally resolves to 
put off the old man with his error and corrup- 
tion and put on the new man who according to 
God ^^ is created in justice and holiness of 
truth" (Eph. iv. 22-24). 

3. The Occasion — Christian Resolution, 

^' The sluggard willeth and willeth not " 
(Prov. xiii. 4). The saints tell us that hell is 
paved with the vain desires of the sluggard. 
Our Saviour assures us on the other hand that 
a persevering, practical resolution is necessary 
for salvation. " Not every one that saith to 
Me, Lord, Lord,'' He says, ^^shall enter into the 
kingdom of heaven : but he that doth the will of 
my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into 
the kingdom " (Matt. viii. 2). A universal de- 
sire of good is inborn in man. Particular dc- 



296 DIVINE INFLUENCE 

sires are forced upon him by reason, passion, 
and grace. Their mere presence or absence re- 
flects little of the quality of his will. But the 
resolution to be good, to do good, to save his 
soul, to use the means of grace, to do violence 
to himself by making the necessary sacrifices, 
these are not only the effect of grace, but also 
the evidence of his sincere good-will. 

In proportion to the integrity of his Christian 
resolution is also man's deliberate surrender to 
the influence of grace. And in proportion to 
his co-operation with grace will he pass more 
and more under its influence until it finally 
floods his soul so completely that even his phys- 
ical nature begins to glow with it. 

4. The Effect— Good-Will 

The effects of sensible devotion are most evi- 
dent to the soul who receives this grace. Be- 
fore she was wearily groping her way in the 
darkness; now she is hurrying along in the 
brightness of noon-day. Before she was har- 
assed with doubt and anxiety, but under the 
stimulating influence of sensible devotion they 
have vanished like so many phantoms. Before 
she was oppressed with sadness that brought 
her to the verge of despair, now she is joyous 
and filled with delight. Before her heart was 



aUAOE OP SENSIBLE DEVOTION' 297 

famished by feeding on the vain desires of the 
world, now it overflows with joy at the thought 
of the Infinite Good. Before that soul was 
v/eak, irresolute, inactive, a slave of her lower 
nature, a victim of every evil circumstance, a 
mere thing drifting on the stream of time. 
But now she stands erect in all her dignity and 
independence of a child of God. Her weakness 
is cured ; her irresolution has vanished. Eeason 
has again been enthroned, and the will made 
mistress of rebellious nature. As that soul 
looks back over her misspent past, she is filled 
with regret. As she peers down the vista of 
the unknown future she is filled with alarm. 
But, as she looks at the present — her concrete 
present — she is spurred to action by the words 
of the Saviour: ^^ Work while it is day; the 
night Cometh, when no man can work " (John 
ix. 4). "Be thou faithful until death: and I 
will give thee the crown of life " (Apoc. ii. 10). 
With a holy enthusiasm, a revelation to her- 
self, she begins to sanctify the present moment 
and thereby to lay up treasures in heaven. 
Under the impulse of her ardor she is cheerful 
and generous in the service of the Lord. 

6. The Danger — Deliisions. 
The danger to the soul, aecompanyiiig iW 



298 DIVINE INFLUENCE 

grace of sensible devotion, arises from her pro- 
clivity to pride and self-love. Unless she be 
humble and strong in faith she will easily be 
deceived regarding the nature of her power and 
the cause of her spiritual progress. By taking 
the credit of her change of mind and heart to 
herself instead of giving due honor to God she 
is puffed up wdth pride; and when she does 
this, even unconsciously, she puts herself at 
variance with God. For " God resisteth the 
proud, and giveth grace to the humble '' (Jos. 
iv. 6). Thus her momentary advancement 
may become the occasion of her greater fall. 
Besides, as pride begets a false sense of security 
and self-sufficiency, she may disregard the 
danger of temptation and neglect the means of 
grace, and by so doing fall into many other sins. 
How many have said to the Master with St. 
Peter: ^^ Yea, though I should die with Thee, 
I will not deny Thee'' (Matt. xxvi. 35), and 
have gone foolishly into the voluntary occasion 
of sin and fallen miserably. Even though the 
Holy Ghost solemnly assures them that '' he 
that loveth danger shall perish in it" (Ecclus. 
iii. 27), self-confident souls persist in learning 
their dependence on God by sad experience. 

The grace of sensible devotion likewise gives 
occasion to the delusion of self-love. This is a 



PURIFICATION OF SENSITIVE NATURE 299 

species of idolatry that keeps the soul from 
knowing her real self, and introduces her to a 
state of spiritual stagnation where the use of 
the means of grace becomes an empty formality 
and progress in virtue and merit an utter im- 
possibility. Instead of being actuated by love 
of God or charity towards their neighbor the 
slaves of self-love seek their o^vn will in all 
things, and thereby class themselves among those 
of whom the Saviour says : " Amen I say to 
you, they have received their reward '' (Matt. 
vi. 5). 

II. PUEIFICATION OF SENSITIVE 
NATURE. 

1. The Nature of This Purification. 

In the beginning a mother nurses her infant 
with the tenderest affection, but grows less de- 
monstrative in her devotion as it advances in 
age ; so, in the beginning of a soul's conversion, 
God fills her with the sweetness of sensible de- 
votion, but changes His treatment when she. 
learns to walk by faith. Precisely because the 
mother is truly devoted to the cliild does she 
gradually feed it on a more nourishing diet and 
teach it to stand and walk alono. For tlie same 
reason God changes His treatment of tlie soul 



SOO DIVINE INFLUENCE 

as she advances in the life of grace. To pre- 
serve her from the delusions of pride and self- 
love and to encourage her to walk steadfastly 
by faithj He withdraws the light and sweetness 
of sensible devotion from time to time and sub- 
jects her to various trials. For, as the winds 
and storms of Spring stimulate vegetation and 
cause it to send its roots deep into the ground, 
so the trials which Providence sends or permits 
ground the soul in humility and attach her in- 
timately to God. 

2. The Necessity of This Purification, 

Many reasons may be advanced to show the 
necessity of purifying the sensitive nature in 
transforming carnal man into a child of God. 
(1) It is necessary to subordinate man's sen- 
sitive nature to his superior nature and make 
it concur and co-operate in man's union with 
God. (2) The grace of sensible devotion 
is an unsafe guide for life because it can be 
counterfeited by Satan to the deception and ruin 
of the soul. (3) In fact man can not easily 
tell whether sensible devotion springs from a 
natural alacrity, a momentary disposition, a 
temptation, or from the grace of God. (4) 
According to the plan of God sensible devotion 



PURIFICATION OF SENSITIVE NATURE 301 

is intended to introduce man to Faith, the only 
safe guide on the journey to eternity. 

3. The Effects of This Purification. 

The hope of reward renders labor and suffer- 
ing tolerable if it does not convert them into 
pleasure. A negative and a positive advantage 
arises from the purification of the sensitive 
nature. The first consists (1) in the removal 
of those imperfections by which the soul tends 
to the seven capital sins; (2) in freeing the 
soul from many vain imaginations and delu- 
sions; (3) in freeing the soul from various de- 
lusions of pride and self-love, and giving her a 
more accurate knowledge of herself and her 
natural powers. 

The positive advantages produced by the pu- 
rification of the sensitive nature are (1) the 
subjugation of the sensitive nature to the intel- 
lectual powers; (2) the acquisition of a clearer 
knowledge of God and of self; (3) the ground- 
ing of the soul in humility, a virtue most neces- 
sary in the spiritual life; (4) making the soul 
poor in spirit by giving her a holy indifference 
for material things; (5) establishing the soul 
in patience, perseverance, and conforaiity to the 
divine will ; (6) strengthening the soul by wean- 



302 DirrsE rSFLUEyCE 

ing her from sensible devotion; (7) bringing 
the soul more intimately into the presence of 
God, and prompting her to serve Him with a 
sincere mind and a pure heart; (S) granting 
her peace and tranquillitv of mind; (9) and im- 
parting a promptitude to practiae the infused 
theological and moral virtues. 

■L Sigms of This Purification, 

When a soul experiences the absence of sen- 
sible devotion and is unconscious of any infi- 
delity to grace throu^ pride or tepidity, and is 
otherwise in normal healthy she may reascmably 
infer that God is sending her this first trial in 
the spiritual life: (1) by the fact that she has 
lost her relish for, and consolation in the service 
of Groi For, when God purifies the natoral 
cognition and affections of man. He will not per- 
mit any other cause to counteract His divine 
influence by sensible delight or consolation ; (2) 
by the fact :h:;: G: i always permits some affec- 
tionate men r" : Him to remain in the soul, 
whereas wl:-„ Li- : .^ iition is caused by melan- 
choly or some other natural cause it wiU obliter- 
ate the memory of divine things before it ex- 
cludes the memory of more proximate material 
pleasures: (3) by the fact that Gk)d withdraws 
His aid in her accustomed mental prayer. For, 



I 



PURIFICATION OF SENSITIVE NATURE 303 

by leading the soul to commimicate more di- 
rectly with Him through her mind and will, 
her imagination and memory become less opera- 
tive and cause her some difficulty in adjusting 
herself to the designs of God. But where this 
aridity arises from merely natural causes, it 
is only temporary and will vanish with the 
removal of the cause. 

5. Counsels on the Purification of Sensitive 
Nature. 

The soul is in great need of a prudent and 
kind director when God purifies her sensitive 
nature. It is then she is in danger of perplex- 
ity, of discouragement, of spiritual stagnation, 
and even of retrogression. In the absence of 
such a director the following counsels may be of 
great service to a soul when passing through 
this *ordeal: (1) Beware of fatiguing the 
mind by vain and useless investigation and exer- 
tion, for, where God decrees one thing, you can 
not effect the contrary and work in liarmony 
with Him. (2) The Saviour exhorted His 
disciples in time of trial to possess their souls 
in patience (LiiJce xii. 19). The soul should 
follow the Sa^dour's advice in this trial where 
she needs rest to preserve her peace aud ti-an- 
quillity. (3) As long as a soul is not oou- 



304 DIVINE tNFLZJENOE 

scious of infidelity to grace she should consider 
the withdrawal of sensible devotion as a reward 
of her fidelity to prepare her for greater favors, 
and not lament it as a punishment for her sin&. 
(4) During this trial the soul will derive much 
profit from the study of the life and especially 
the suffering of our divine Saviour. (5) Be 
faithful to your ordinary pious practices. (6) 
Be ready to follow the Master to the death of 
the cross if that be God's holy will. (7) Best 
assured that your merit is greatest when con- 
forming to God's will in adversity. (8) 
^' They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 
Going they went and wept, casting their seeds. 
But coming they shall come with joy fulness, 
carrying their sheaves " (Ps. cxxv. 5-7). 

6. The Rehellion of Sensitive Nature. 

As reaction is equal to action the dejection 
of the soul, deprived of sensible devotion, will 
be proportionate to the good-will she exercised 
in following the promptings of grace by turn- 
ing from mental dissipation to a life of re^coUec- 
tion, and by advancing from pious sentiments 
and right reason to a life of practical faith. 
When Mary lost Jesus in the temple she sought 
Him sorrowing. Would that all souls followed 
her example in this trial! By giving way to 



PURIFICATION OF SENSITIVE NATURE 305 

dejection the soul encourages the flesh to rebel 
against the spirit and to oppose weariness to de- 
votion, aridity to a relish for spiritual things, 
and desolation to the consolations of the spirit- 
ual life. Like the beloved disciples that were 
privileged to accompany the Master, the soul 
that has tasted the sensible delights of Tabor is 
expected to watch and pray when she enters 
Gethsemani. Prayer and patient endurance 
alone can save her from this rebellion of fallen 
nature. To this the Psalmist exhorts her, say- 
ing : " Expect the Lord, do manfully, and let 
thy heart take courage, and wait thou for the 
Lord'' (Ps. XXV. 14). 

As the Israelites hungered for the flesh-pots 
of Egypt until they became accustomed to the 
bread from heaven, so man's rebellious nature 
makes the higher graces taste insipid when first 
deprived of sensible devotion. But, as a child 
gains confidence and strength by patiently ad- 
vancing on hands and knees, so will the soul bo 
purified and strengthened by patiently enduring 
this trial. Hence the Wise Man says : '' Wait 
on God with patience; join thyself to God and 
endure, that thy life may be increased in the 
latter end " {Ecclus. ii. 3). 



306 DiriSE lyFLUEXCE 

7. The Purification of Sensitive Xature hy 
Temporal Losses, 

As human affections are more easily centered i 
on temporal than on spiritual goods, the purifi- 
cation of sensitive nature is usually perfected 
by temporal losses. These may be of four 
kinds: (1) God may deprive man of goods 
that are external and independent of man, as 
material possessions, relatives, and friends. 
Their loss is often felt most keenly. Holy Job 
gives us an admirable example of resignation 
when thus afflicted. '' The Lord gave, and the 
Lord hath taken away: as it hath pleased 
the Lord so it is done: blessed be the name of 
the Lord'' (J oh I 21). 

(2) This purification is sometimes accom- 
plished by the loss of honor and power. Honor 
is the esteem of men, power the influence we 
have over them. Ambition, or the desire of 
honor, may be inordinate in three ways : by de- 
siring imdue honor, by desiring honors for self 
without reference to God, and by desiring 
honors without intending to use them for the 
good of others. Without the divine aid few 
souls can die so completely to the esteem of 
men that they can traly say with St. Francis 
Assisi : '^ What I am in the sight of God, that 
I am, and nothing more ! " 



PURIFICATION^ OF SENSITIVE NATURE 307 

(3) The purification of the sensitive nature 
is often perfected by bodily infirmity. The 
more personal the privation the more painful it 
becomes. How many have turned to God in 
sickness, who had no time for Him before? 
And how many have been sanctified on a bed of 
pain in an incredibly short period ? 

(4) Lastly, this purification is usually per- 
fected by the privation of spiritual consolation. 
The apostles became sad when they heard that 
their beloved Master was about to leave them. 
But He said to them : '' It is expedient to you 
that I go : for if I go not, the Paraclete will not 
come to you " (John xvi. 7). The Holy Ghost 
can say : '' It is expedient for you " to every 
soul that is more attached to sensible devotion 
than to the holy will of God. Like the apostles, 
that soul must be disposed for higher graces by 
the loss of sensible devotion before she can re- 
ceive and profit by them. 

8. Purification of Sensitive Nature hy Temptations 
of Satan, 

During the purification of man's sensitive 
nature by grace Satan sometimes tcmj^ts liim to 
pride, to despair, or to impurity. As ])ri(le was 
the cause of his own downfall, he may suggest 
to the soul that slio deseiTcd kinder treatnu^nt 



308 DIVIDE INFLUENCE 

at the hands of God. And if this fails to cause 
her to rebel, he may represent God as a hard 
and exacting Judge, whom she can never please, 
and thus lead her on to despair. The selfish 
soul, however, he usually tempts most severely 
to sensuality. He may begin by suggesting to 
her to take care of her health, to enjoy some 
innocent recreation, and the like. By reviving 
the memory of dangerous and sinful experi- 
ences, and by exciting her imagination he will 
then tempt her violently to impurity, so that she 
can not perform her devotions with recollection. 
If she persists in having recourse to Jesus and 
Mary, he will fill the soul with groundless fears 
about the validity of her confessions, and ques- 
tion the integrity of her intentions, the purity f I 
of her motives, and the rectitude of her actions. 
Here the humble, prudent soul will live by faith 
and submit unreservedly and unquestioningly to 
the guidance of her director, avoid idleness, H 
think of Jesus, His teaching, and His saints, 
and place herself unreservedly in the protection 
of Mary Immaculate, or hide in the wound of 
the Sacred Heart. 

9. Divine Chastisements. 

Besides the punishment which the indifferent 
and lukewarm inflict on themselves by their 



PURIFICATION OF INTELLECTUAL NATURE 309 

sins, God sometimes chastises souls to effect 
their conversion. As a conscientious parent is 
obliged to go to extremes at times in correcting 
a wayward child, so our heavenly Father at 
times treats a soul with severity to make her 
realize her peril and turn from her evil way. 
These chastisements consist of temporal mis- 
fortunes united with the invitation of grace to 
be converted while time, grace, and opportunity 
are at hand. They indicate God's willingness 
to show mercy on earth and to spare the soul in 
eternity. When received with a contrite and 
humble heart divine chastisements lead to sin- 
cere conversion, and often mark the beginning 
of a holy life. As ^^ the earth is full of 
the mercy of the Lord" (Ps. xxxii. 5) He 
rarely punishes in justice here below, and, when 
He does so, it is to put an end to sin and scan- 
dal that the soul may not have a greater re- 
sponsibility in eternity. 

ni. THE PURIFICATION OF INTELLEC- 
TUAL NATURE. 

1. The Nature of This Purification, 

The intellectual faculties are the mind and 
will. Truth is the object of the former, good- 
ness of the latter. As a result of original and 



310 DIVINE INFLUENCE 

actual sin the mind is darkened by ignorance, 
prejudice, error, and spiritual blindness, in 
consequence of which it adopts false principles, 
is fickle, curious, rash, and obstinate. As a 
result of the same cause the will inclines inor- 
dinately to riches, comforts, pleasures, relatives, 
friends, honors, self-esteem, self-will, and self- 
love, instead of seeking the Infinite Good in all 
things. The passive purification of the intel- 
lectual faculties consists in the grace of God re- 
moving these effects of sin and in uniting the 
faculties to God, the Eternal Truth and Infinite 
Good. This is accomplished by the light and 
strength of actual grace being concentrated on 
these faculties in a way that enables a sincere 
mind and good will to rid themselves of their 
defects. 

When the mind is thus detained and confined 
to the consideration of its own defects and pre- 
vented from rising to God and spiritual things, 
it is forced to accept the guidance of faith and 
the dictates of justice. This circumstance 
humbles its pride, purifies it of vanity, conceit, 
and worldly ambition, while enabling it to per- 
ceive, judge, and act according to the light of 
the Eternal Truth. 

As the faculty of love and the power of self- 
determination the will undergoes a twofold puri- 



PURIFICATION OF INTELLECTUAL NATURE 311 

fication. Its inordinate desires and attachment 
are crucified by the sufferings, privations, and 
disappointments ordained by the special dispen- 
sations of Divine Providence, and supplanted by 
an increasing esteem, affection, and desire for 
God, the Infinite Good. During the same time 
the v^^aywardness and stubbornness of the rebel- 
lious will surrenders more and more to the 
Divine Will, until it conforms to the plan of 
God in all things, and thereby becomes truly 
free with the liberty of a child of God. 

2. The Necessity of This Purification. 

There is a fourfold reason for this purifica- 
tion of the intellectual faculties: (1) to re- 
move the actual and habitual defects and im- 
perfections of the intellectual faculties, which 
distract the soul in the service of God by inclin- 
ing her to created things; (2) to give man 
capacity for merit by granting him liberty of 
action; (3) to give man a well-grounded hope 
of eternal life by actually uniting him with 
God; (4) to make man acceptable to God by 
filial reverence, stability, and love. 

S. The Effects of This Purification. 

The purification of the intellectual faculties 
produces five salutary effects: (1) it gives the 



312 DIVINE INFLUENCE 

soul a clear, humble, penitent knowledge of her- 
self ; (2) it fosters a continual recollection of 
God's presence; (3) it stimulates the soul in 
eradicating defects and in cultivating virtue; 

(4) it stimulates her love for God by giving the 
soul a clearer knowledge of His infinite good- 
ness, and of His condescending love and mercy ; 

(5) finally, it makes the soul self-possessed, 
quiet, and strong in the service of God. 

4. Signs of This Purification. 

Effects that can be produced only by the grace 
of God are sure signs of the passive purification 
of the intellectual faculties. Among such ef- 
fects the following may be easily recognized: 
(1) the presence of a spiritual sweetness and 
delight as long as the soul is not conscious of 
sin or serious imperfection; (2) an ardent de- 
sire of spiritual progress, which has protected 
the soul against deliberate faults for a long 
time; (3) and a spirit of recollection and love 
for God. 

5. Counsels on the Purificatton of the Intellectual 
Faculties, 

In addition to what has already been coun- 
seled on the purification of sensitive nature, and 
which applies equally here, we offer a few spe- 



PURIFICATION OF INTELLECTUAL NATURE 313 

cial suggestions: (1) Pray, pray, pray for 
conformity to the Divine Will in all things. 
(2) Be persuaded that temptations and anxie- 
ties are an essential part in the purification of 
the intellectual faculties. (3) Before you can 
possess the kingdom of heaven you must have a 
triple claim to it: you must have inherited it, 
negotiated for it, and taken it by violence, as 
Jesus teaches in the Gospels. (4) Love of 
the Cross is essential to security on the way to 
perfection. 

6. Temptations from Human Nature During This 
Purification, 

As in the beginning of a soul's conversion the 
flesh rebels against the spirit, so now human 
nature gradually re-asserts itself and tempts the 
soul to slacken its pace and perhaps even to 
cease doing good. On the one hand, the mind 
may be ignorant of the soul's progress and the 
good she is accomplishing, or may not advert to 
the necessity of making persevering efforts to 
persevere. On the other hand, the will may be 
timid, difiident, and fearful of the obstacles that 
confront it. If the first inclination to pusil- 
lanimity be not instantly resisted by faith and 
confidence in God, a spiritual languor will seize 
upon the soul. She will then become fastidious 



314 DIVINE INFLUENCE 

in the practice of virtue and may even be 
tempted to abandon her vocation or the desire of 
striving after Christian perfection. The soul 
should despise such temptations and be per- 
suaded that God loves her and must submit her 
to these trials to promote her spiritual progress. 
For, ^^ whom the Lord loveth He chastiseth; 
and He scourgeth every son whom He re- 
ceiveth '' (Heb, xii. 6). And ^'because thou 
wast acceptable to God it was necessary that 
temptation should prove thee" (Tob. xii. 13). 

7. Trials from the World During This Purification. 

" If you had been of the world, the world 
would love its own ; but because you are not of 
the world, but I have chosen you out of the 
world, therefore the world hateth you '' {John 
XV. 19). Man may incur the displeasure of 
others on account of his faults and suffer the 
consequences of his conduct without being 
thereby made more pleasing to God. But when 
he is hated for a perfect work, it is a sign that 
he is Christlike and not of the world. In fact 
St. Paul assures his disciple St. Timothy that 
" all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall 
suffer persecution'' (2 Tim. iii. 12). And the 
Saviour, in speaking to His disciples on this 
subject, warned them that ^* the hour cometh, 



PURIFICATION OF INTELLECTUAL NATURE 315 

that whosoever killeth you, will think that he 
doth a service to God" (John xvi. 2). We 
must therefore take it for granted that the trials 
we endure from others without any fault of our 
own are permitted by God for our spiritual 
advancement. In practice we should seek to 
please God and remain indifferent to the opin- 
ions of men. 

In fact, if we turn at random to the lives of 
the saints we shall find that all suffered much 
from their neighbors. Sometimes the latter 
were actuated by malice, at other times they 
were guided by narrow-mindedness, and actu- 
ated by blind, fanatical zeal. 

The best rule to follow in all trials that others 
prepare for us is to overcome our adversaries by 
humility, to restrain them by patience, and to 
reply to their calumny and detraction by perse- 
vering silence. 

8. Temptations from Satan During This 
Purification, 

As faith is the foundation of the spiritual 
life, God permits most of His elect to be tempted 
against it, to purify them and to increase their 
merit. With most specious arguments Satan 
will try to undermine the certainty of their 
faith, to fill their minds with doubts and gloomy 



316 DITISE ISFLrESCE 



n 



forebodings, and finally will tempt them to de- 
spair. And, as but few love God for His own 
sake, these temptations fill most souls with great 
distress. When tempted against faith the soul 
should pray, study, make aci5 of faith, and say 
in all confidence with holy Job : " Although 
Thou shouldst kill me, I will trust in Thee ' ' 
{J oh xiii. 15). And if the temptation con- 
tinues for a long time, the soul should seek 
counsel from her spiritual director. 

9. E xinwrdinary Trial from God During This 
Purification. 

At times God protracts the purgation of the 
intellectual faculties indefinitely by depriving 
them of all consolation, and by permitting them 
thus to continue in aridity, anxiety, and dark- 
ness. Though the soul is intimately united to 
God by His grace, like the Saviour on the cross, 
she receives no perceptible light or strength from 
this union. When thus tried, like gold in the 
furnace, St. Bernard exhorts all to practise de- 
votion to the Passion of Our Lord and to the 
Sorrows of Mary, and to rest assured that '" God 
is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted 
above that which you are able: but will make 
also with temptation issue, that you may be able 
to bear it'' (1 Cor. x. 13). 



SECTION III. 

THE DIVINE INFLUENCE IN THE 
PRACTICE OF VIRTUE — PAS- 
SIVE ILLUMINATION. 

THE twofold divine influence of the special 
dispensations of Providence and actual 
grace are found in every phase of the spiritual 
life. The special dispensations of Divine Prov- 
idence provide the occasion for man's spiritual 
advancement, while the allurements of grace 
stimulate his good will by enlightening his mind, 
inclining his heart, and strengthening his will 
in utilizing the occasion to advance in self- 
denial, in the practice of virtue, and in union 
with God. 

In the practice of virtue the special dispensa- 
tions of Divine Providence present the oppor- 
tunity for man (1) to know, love, and serve 
God; (2) to know and follow his vocation; (3) 
and to practise every virtue. At the same time 
grace allures man to practise virtue by the stim- 
ulus (1) of the fear of the Lord; (2) of the 
desire of reward; (3) of the excellence of vir- 
317 



318 PRACTICE OF VIRTUE 

tue; (4) of gratitude to God; (5) and of the 
union of contemplation. 

I. THE SPECIAL DISPENSATIONS OP 
PEOVIDENCE. 

1. The Opportunity to Know, Love, and Serve 
God. 

When considering the assistance which God 
gives man in the spiritual life we saw how He 
implanted in every human heart a craving for 
happiness which He alone can satisfy, and how 
He gave man an innate love of truth and virtue 
to guide him in the pursuit of this happiness. 
We also saw how, as a rule, the word and 
example of parents, and the guidance of the 
Church are the ordinary means which Provi- 
dence employs in giving man the opportunity to 
know, love, and serve God. Besides, we saw 
in considering the universality of grace, that, 
where these means are lacking God will not 
hesitate to send an angel if necessary to supply 
this opportunity to a soul of good will. In fact 
we are not exaggerating the goodness, love, and 
mercy of God, if we maintain that, by the spe- 
cial dispensations of His Providence, God offers 
this opportunity repeatedly even to the most 
benighted and degraded savage. For many 
things are easy to God that perplex the ingenuity 



SPECIAL DISPENSATIONS 319 

of man. The point that is clear to us and that 
gives us confidence is that " the mercy of God is 
upon all flesh " (Ecclus. xviii. 12). 

2. The Opportunity for Man to Know and to 
Follow His Vocation, 

In the chapter on the permanent assistance 
which God gives to man we saw how God has des- 
tined every Christian for a particular state in 
life. This vocation may be either to the matri- 
monial state or to a single state. A vocation to 
the matrimonial state includes the vocation of a 
companion of opposite temperament, but of the 
same taste, and of the same religion. A voca- 
tion to the single state may be either to a life 
of virginity in the world, to the Eeligious state, 
or to the clerical state, and always includes a 
preference for the concrete circumstances of 
the life to be led. 

As a rule Divine Providence makes use of the 
example of others, of the dictates of conscience, 
of the hearing of the word of God, and of the 
judgment of his spiritual director to give man 
the opportunity to know his vocation. If num 
then enters into the plan of God with generosity 
and determination, God will arrange by tlie dis- 
pensations of His Providence and the influence 
of His grace that the opportunity to follow his 



320 PRACTICE OF VIRTUE 

vocation will present itself to man under the 
circumstances He has ordained. 

3. The Opportunity to Practise Every Virtue. 

As man is made conformable to his divine 
Model by the practice of virtue, every state in 
life presents ample opportunity of practising 
every virtue. By following his vocation and 
entering the state in life to which God has 
destined him, man finds these opportunities rela- 
tively favorable, that is, suited to his concrete 
nature, and enriched with grace. If, then, he 
maintains the generous determination to labor, 
to endure, and to pray for the accomplishment 
of God's holy will, man will have both the in- 
clination and the strength to practise every vir- 
tue as the opportunities present themselves. 
Thus, with an ordinary good will, he will ac- 
complish more by co-operating in the plan and 
with the grace of God, than he could reasonably 
hope to accomplish in preferring the opportu- 
nities which God has not destined for him. 

II. THE ALLUEEMEJTTS OF GRACE. 
1. The Fear of the Lord. 

When man considers the final tendency of his 
corrupt nature his innate desire of happiness 
causes him to pause in the gratification of his 



ALLUREMENTS OF GRACE 321 

natural inclinations, and to stand in awe and 
dread before the jnst Judge of the living and 
the dead. But when he learns that the Master 
of life and death is a Being of infinite goodness, 
who has loved him with an everlasting love and 
who desires to make him eternally happy, his 
awe and dread are converted into that reverence 
and affection which constitute the fear of the 
Lord. Under the stimulating influence of 
actual grace the fear of the Lord becomes a 
powerful incentive to man in doing his duty by 
avoiding the vices and by practising the virtues 
peculiar to his state in life. 

2. The Desire of Reward, 

Another powerful allurement to a life of 
virtue is the desire of reward. This is begotten 
by man's innate desire of happiness, enlightened 
by faith, supported by hope, and stimulated by 
the grace of God. It is fed by every considera- 
tion of that reward of which St. Paul says: 
'^ Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath 
it entered into the heart of man, what things 
God hath prepared for them that love TTim " 
(1 Cor. ii. 9). 

The desire of reward prompts man to bo 
faithful in the details of his duty, to pray with 
recollection and devotion, to bo prompt and der 



322 PRACTICE OF VIRTUE 

cisive in resisting temptations, and to be vigi- 
lant in det^ecting and avoiding the occasion of 
sin as well as in discovering and using the 
opportunities of doing good. 

3. The Excellence of Virtue, 

The thought of the excellence of virtue in- 
clines man to its practice and gives the grace 
of God another means of alluring him to em- 
brace the opportunity of growing in it. As the 
love of virtue is an innate guide to happiness, 
the Christian should esteem every act of virtue 
as a step towards final beatitude. For, by the 
gratification it affords his innate desire of happi- 
ness, the excellence of virtue becomes an oc- 
casion of joy and of merit, and a powerful 
incentive to fidelity and perseverance in the 
service of God. This gratification w^hich man 
experiences in doing good is enhanced by ex- 
periencing the accomplishment of a good deed, 
by the approbation such a deed receives from 
conscience, from all lovers of righteousness, and 
from God Himself. The knowledge of the 
excellence of virtue will prompt man to scorn 
the flattery, and to brave the contempt of a cor- 
rupt world, and stimulate him in striving after 
the Christian ideal. 



ALLUREMENTS OF GRACE 323 

4. Gratitude to God. 

A fourth means by which grace aUures man 
in the practice of virtue is gratitude to God. In 
proportion as he meditates on the benefits of 
creation, redemption, and sanctification for 
mankind, and on the goodness, love, and mercy 
of God towards him in particular, is man con- 
strained to say with St Paul : ^^ By the grace 
of God, I am what I am '^ (1 Cor. xv. 10). All 
that man is and has, with the exception of sin, 
is the gift of God. If God, who does not need 
him, had been just to man, instead of showing 
him mercy when he committed sin, man would 
be in hell instead of enjoying the blessings of 
God up to the present moment. 

In proportion, then, as he recognizes his debt 
of gratitude will man be prompted not only to 
praise and thank God, but also to make returns 
to Him for favors received by serving Ilim with 
fidelity, generosity, and devotion. 

6. The Incentive of Contemplation. 

Contemplation is an intuition of divine truth 
by means of which man approaches God and ij^ 
inflamed with love and devotion for ITini. In 
proportion as man assimilates the teaching of 
faith by study, reflection, and prayer, does ho 



324 PRACTICE OF VIRTUE 



acquire a treasury of divine tniths that may be 
used by him as so many avenues by whicli he 
may approach the Infinite Truth, Goodness, and 
Love, and that may be used by the Holy Ghost 
as so many means by which to incline man to 
God by His gifts, and allure him by His graco 
to the practice of virtue. For, as the devil in 
tempting man uses the sinful impressions stored 
up in his memory to turn him from God and to 
lead him into sin, so in a more perfect way the 
Holy Ghost uses the truths of religion, which 
man holds dear, to stimulate his mind and heart 
in the practice of virtue. It thus happens that 
in consequence of the recollection and devotion 
with which man performs his morning devo- 
tions, he experiences pious thoughts and holy 
sentiments during the day that strengthen him 
against temptation, sweeten the discharge of his 
duties, and prompt him to perform acts of Chris- 
tian charity. 



SECTION IV. 

THE DIVINE INFLUENCE UNITING 

THE SOUL TO GOD — PASSIVE 

UNION. 

SANCTIFYING grace, the infused virtues, and 
the gifts of the Holy Ghost give man the 
power of living a supernatural life. The prac- 
tice of virtue develops this life, and union with 
God perfects it. Union with God in the super- 
natural life consists in perfect conformity with 
God in mind, in will, and in action. In pro- 
portion to man's good will God effects this union 
by providing the occasions through the spe- 
cial dispensations of His Providence, and by 
drawing man on, enlightening, directing, and 
strengthening him, and crowning him with com- 
plete victory over self and intimate union with 
Him, by the allurements of His grace. 

L THE SPECIAL DISPENSATIONS OP 
DIVINE PEOVIDENCE. 

1. The Opportunity of Conformity of Mind, 

Man conforms his mind to the mind of God 

by viewing all things in a spirit of faith. Tlio 

325 



326 PASSIVE UNION 

ideas, the judgment, the maxims, and the prin- 
ciples of the world have nothing in common Avith 
the truths, the judgments, the maxims, or the 
principles of God. By faith man makes the 
latter his own and regards even the minutest 
detail of God's external works from His true, 
immutable, and eternal standpoint. 

The opportunity of actually conforming his 
mind to the mind of God presents itself to a 
Christian as often as a conflict arises in his 
mind between the teaching and practice of the 
world and the teaching and practice of faith. 
The habit of conforming our minds to God's 
begets that Catholic instinct by which man 
judges intuitively of the orthodoxy of an opin- 
ion regarding faith or morals. It is likewise the 
foundation of the conformity of man's will and 
actions to the will and plan of God. 

2. The Opportunity of Conformity of WilL 

The will of God is made kno^Mi to us by the 
voice of parents, pastors, and other lawful su- 
periors, by the laws of God, by the laws of the 
Church, and by the just laws of our country. 
Sometimes God makes His will known to us in 
a special matter by the special dispensation of 
His Providence, by the inspiration of His grace, 



DISPENSATIONS OF PROVIDENCE 327 

and in a doubtful matter by the advice of our 
spiritual director. 

The human will must do four things to con- 
form to the will of God: (1) desire the good 
which God wills; (2) resolve on attaining the 
good which God wills; (3) set the other facul- 
ties in motion to attain the good which God 
wills; (4) and direct the faculties in the pur- 
suit of the good which God wills, and as He 
makes it known by the dictates of reason en- 
lightened by faith. Conformity to the Divine 
Will in these four points constitutes the essence 
of all sanctity. In proportion as man prac- 
tises it he may confidently say with the Saviour : 
'' My meat is to do the will of Him who sent 
me, that I may perfect His work " (John iv. 
34). '' For I do always the things that please 
Him" (John viii. 29). 

Providence gives man the opportunity of con- 
forming his will to the will of God, whenever 
worldly desires, self-will, or tepidity inclines his 
will to oppose the will of God. 

3. The Opportunity of Conformity in Action, 

The plan of God provides for three kinds of 
Christian actions: prayer, labor, and sacrifice. 
Prayer embraces the proper use of the means of 



328 PASSIVE uyioy 

grace whereby man subjects himself to the 
divine influence and directs his actions to the 
glorv of God and the welfare of souls. Labor 
consists in the pursuit of those intermediate 
ends, which, according to man's state in life^ 
shall serve as stepping-stones to conduct him to 
his Final End. Labor is made up of mental 
and physical application, and of sufficient repose 
and innocent recreation to conserve man's nor- 
mal powers while practising every virtue. Sac- 
rifice embraces: (1) the necessary effort man 
must make to labor and pray according to the 
plan of God; (2) the renunciation and detach- 
ment from the possession and use of the things 
that may hinder man's spiritual progress; (3) 
the obligation of patiently enduring all the trials 
and temptations of life, which Providence posi- 
tively ordains or passively tolerates man to 
undergo on his journey to eternity. 

As prayer, labor, and sacrifice enter equally 
into the plan of God, perfect conformity de- 
mands that we embrace the opportunity for each 
in the same spirit of faith and with equal gener- 
osity and good-will, and perform them with 
that exactness, thoroughness, and attention to 
detail which the holy will of God prescribes. 

Providence gives man the opportunity of con- 
forming his actions to the plan of God by the 



TEE ALLUREMENTS OF GRACE 329 

obligations of his state in life, and by special 
occasions for prayer and the practice of frater- 
nal charity. When man embraces these oppor- 
tunities eagerly and co-operates perfectly in 
them, he may truly say with St. Clement Hof- 
bauer : " I will what God wills, because He 
wills it, when He wills it, where He wills it, and 
as He wills it/' 

11. THE ALLUEEMENTS OF GEACE. 

1. The Love of Desire. 

By the love of desire man clings to God as the 
Author of all happiness. In proportion as he 
realizes that his happiness can be found only in 
the friendship of God, does man tend to union 
with Him by this desire. And in proportion 
as man keeps this truth before his mind, will 
grace spur him on to this union by making the 
holy will of God the rule of all his thoughts, of 
all his affections, and of all his actions. When 
contemplating God as the Author of all happi- 
ness, man desires, like St. Paul, " to be dis- 
solved and to be with Christ" (Philip, i. 23), 
and is prepared to make any sacrifice to attain 
eternal fruition. 

2. The Love of Benevolence. 
The most perfect bond whereby man can be 



330 PASSIVE UNION 

united to God is the love of benevolence. By 
this love man clings to God as the Greatest Good 
and wdshes Him infinite honor and glory. On 
this account the love of benevolence is called 
charity, or the bond of perfection. 

In proportion as man divests himself of self- 
love and surrenders to the allurements of grace, 
Tvill grace draw him on to this most intimate 
union with God, until he attains the full liberty 
of a child of God and practises perfect conform- 
ity to the holy will of God. He has then mas- 
tered the first and greatest commandment, which 
is '' to love the Lord thy God with thy whole 
heart, and with thy whole soul, and with all 
thy strength, and w^ith all thy mind " (Luke x. 
27). 

3. Infused Contemplation, 

Infused contemplation is a loving intuition 
of divine timth effected by God to unite a soul 
most intimately to himself. This superaatural 
effect in a soul that has completely surrendered 
to God, is immediately brought about by the gift 
of wisdom, imderstanding, or knowledge, or by 
some higher light or infused science. It takes 
so complete possession of the soul that it gives 
the mind so clear a knowledge of God's ineffable 
truths, and inflames the will with so sweet and 
heavenly a pleasure, that it draws the soul irre- 



EXTRAORDINARY FAVORS 331 

sistibly to union with God and unites her to Him 
in reverent admiration and joyful delight. 

By infused contemplation a soul may be at- 
tracted along four stages of perfect union with 
God. The first stage, called the state of quiet, 
consists in a transient recollection and silence 
of mind, while the will communes with God in 
repentant sorrow and tender love. The second 
stage is called the state of full union. In this 
God suspends the natural actions of all the 
powers of the soul while infusing into her the 
gift of true wisdom. In the third stage, called 
ecstatic union, God takes so complete control of 
the soul's powers, and so absorbs even the senses, 
as to suspend for the time all communication 
with the exterior world. The final stage is 
called spiritual marriage or transforming union. 
It is permanent, and consists in making the soul 
perfectly conformable to her Divine Spouse; 

III. EXTEAORDINARY FAVOES. 

God gives two kinds of grace to man : one to 
make man pleasing in His sight, the other to 
aid him in bringing souls to Him. The former 
we have considered as divided into sanctifying 
and actual grace. We shall now add a few 
words of explanation on the latter, Avhich is 
called '' grace gratuitously given.'' 



332 PASSIVE UNIO:^ 

Man can become the instrument of his neigh- 
bor's conversion by enlightening his mind on 
the truth, and by persuading his will to embrace 
it. To accomplish both successfully he must 
possess three qualifications : the necessary knowl- 
edge, the faculty of communication, and the 
power of persuasion. In the natural order man 
can acquire these qualifications by a proper cul- 
tivation of his talents. 

In the supernatural order, besides the stimu- 
lating influence of His grace accompanying 
their words, God always gives His agents the 
gifts of faith and science to perfect their knowl- 
edge, the gifts of understanding and counsel 
to perfect their faculty of communication, and 
the gift of wisdom to perfect their power of 
persuasion. When extraordinary circumstances 
require it, God perfects the knowledge of His 
agents by visions, inspirations, and revelations, 
their faculty of communication by the gift of 
tongues and the gift of interpretation, and their 
power of persuasion by the gifts of the discern- 
ment of spirits, of prophecy, and of miracles. 

As nearly every soul that attains a high de- 
gree of union with God is instrumental in bring- 
ing other souls to God, the saints are usually 
favored with one or more of these graces. Since 
these graces are not given to ordinary souls they 



EXTRAORDINARY FAVORS 333 

need not be explained in detail here. It may be 
well to remark, however, that we should avoid 
both extreme attitudes in regard to any ex- 
traordinary supernatural manifestation. On the 
one hand we must always admit their possibil- 
ity, as well as the infinite goodness, love, and 
mercy of God. But on the other hand we must 
guard against superstition, the deception of the 
imagination through pride or self-love, and the 
blunders of credulity. Let us take it for 
granted that whatever God does He does well. 
He leaves no ground of reasonable doubt in the 
minds of those to whom He sees fit to grant 
extraordinary favors. 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX 



Action, conformity in . . . 

Actions, sinful 

Active, purgation 

Active union with God... 

Actual grace 

Acts, morality of human. 
Responsibility of hu- 
man 

Adoption, divine 

Allurements of grace, 320, 

Ambition 

Amendment 124, 

Angels, motive for confi- 
dence 

Angels, protection of 

Anger 117, 

Assistance, God gives, 263, 

Attention to details 

Attributes of God 

Austerities 

Authority, respect for.... 

Avarice « 

Aversion 

Avoidance of the occa- 
sion of sin 

Avoidance of singularity . 

Bad will 

Beatitudes, the 

Benevolence, the love of. 
Blindness, curing spiritual 

Care of health 

Cardinal virtues 

Carnal man, subjugation of 
Castigation of sin.... 120, 
Catholic Church, loyalty to 

Catholic spirit 

Cause for penance 

Character 

Chastisements, divine..,. 

Cheerfulness 

Cheerfulness, sadness and 



325 

97 

88 

206 

281 

30 

29 
274 
329 
103 
126 

56 
267 
162 
279 

84 
240 
129 

62 
115 
158 

81 
137 

45 
212 
329 
173 

139 
198 
131 
122 

61 
142 
110 

35 
308 
135 

83 



335 



Charity 144, 197 

motive for union with 
God 209 

Christ, loyalty to Jesus . . 60 

Christian charity 144 

Christian ideal, the 65 

Christian resolution, occa- 
sion for grace 295 

Christian perfection facili- 
tated in religion 148 

Claims, God's 16 

Comforts, detachment from 165 

Communion, Holy 119 

Communion of saints.... 271 

Community life 226 

Compunction, spirit of... 68 
Confession, sacramental. . 120 

Confidence in God 56 

Conformity to divine Will, 325 
Conformity, means of un- 
ion with God 210 

Conquering obstinacy.... 178 

Conscience 267 

Conscience, remorse of . . . 47 
Conscience,^ examining . . 94 
Contemplation, incentive 

of 323 

Contemplation, infused... 330 

Contempt for Satan 71 

Contempt for the world.. 70 

Continuous effort 77 

Counsels on self-denial... 92 
Counsels on passive purga- 
tion 291 

Counsels on the practice 

of virtue . 193 

Counsels on union with 

God 211 

Counsels on the means of 

Grace 188 

Courage 161 

Creation of the world, the 249 
Creatures, God's govern- 
ment of 251 



336 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX 



1 



Cross, peculiarities of. . . 107 
Cure of spiritual blindness 173 

Curing fickleness 176 

Curiosity, remedying 177 

Custody of the senses 147 

Daily examination of con- 
science 94 

Decision in temptation... 80 

Delusions 27 

Delusions of self-love.... 102 
Delusions of wrong princi- 
ples 101 

Delusions in sensible de- 
votion 297 

Desire of happiness 264 

Desire of truth and vir- 
tue 265 

Desire, love of 157, 829 

Desire, passion of 73 

Desire of reward 321 

Despair 160 

Detachment 164 

Details, attention to 84 

Determination to attain 

perfection 63 

Detestation of sin 122 

Devil, the 42 

Devotion 292 

Director, spiritual 63 

Director, obedience to. . . . 63 
Diffidence in ourselves... 53 
Dismissal of false princi- 
ples 174 

Dispositions for interior 

life 53 

Divine adoption 274 

Divine chastisements. . . . 308 
Divine influence in self- 
denial 291 

Divine influence in prac- 
tice of virtue 317 

Divine influence in union 

with God 325 

Docility 76 

Dwelling, plain 133 

Ears, custody of 147 

Economy of God's work. . 246 
Effects of purifying the 

intellect ^ 201 

Effects of purifying the 

senses 194 

Effects of sensible devo- 
tion 801 



Effort, continuous 77 

Endurance, patient 136 

Enemies, knowledge of 

man's 39 

Enemies of salvation 

powerful 55 

Envy 119 

Error, removal of 172 

Eternity 50 

Examination, daily 94 

for good confession.... 96 

general 94 

particular 95 

Excellence of virtue, the 322 
Existence, knowledge of 

man's 48 

External senses, subjuga- 
tion of 146 

External works of God.. 245 

Extraordinary favors 331 

Extraordinary trial 203 

Eyes, custody of 147 

Faith 195 

False principles 174 

Fare, plain 134 

Favors, extraordinary .... 831 
Fear of the Lord motive of 

self-denial 89, 161 

Fear of the Lord motive 

of virtue 320 

Fear, passion of 104 

Feared, God is to be 19 

Fervor 76 

Fickleness 176 

Fidelity 86 

Flesh, the 39 

Flesh, subjugation of the. 69 

Fortitude 203 

Frequent renewal of good 

intention 85 

Friends 140, 166 

General examination of 

interior 93 

Generosity 75 

Gifts of the Holy Ghost.. 277 

Gluttony 118 

God, active imion with.. 206 

God's claims on man 16 

God, heroic union with.. 136 
God, His nature and at- 
tributes 154 

God, opportunity to know. 205 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX 



337 



God, passive union with. 210 
Good confession, examina- 
tion for 63 

Good intentions 32 

Good intentions, frequent 

renewal of • • 85 

Good, search for occasion 

to do 82 

Good use of time 56 

Good Will , 31, 296 

Good Will, effect of de- 
votion 191 

Government of creation. 251 

Grace, actual 181 

Grace, allurements of.... 320 
Grace of sensible devo- 
tion 292 

Grace, sanctifying 272 

Gradual progress 78 

Gratitude to God 18, 323 

Growth, moral 36 

Guide, our spiritual 130 

Habjt, good 26 

Habit of industry 135 

Habits, sinful 98 

Happiness 37 

Happiness, desire of..... 264 
Happiness, object of union 

with God 208 

Hatred 157 

Health, care of 139 

Heaven beyond man's un- 
aided reach 55 

Heart, clean of 140 

Heart, purity of 89 

Heroic union with God.. 212 

Holy Ghost 175 

Holy Ghost, gifts of 277 

Home life 138 

Honors, detachment from 167 
Hope of reward, motive 

of virtue 191 

Hope, virtue of 160, 196 

Horror for sin 66 

Human acts, responsi- 
bility for 29 

Human acts, morality of. 30 

Human imperfections 100 

Human nature 22 

Idiosyncrasies 101 

Ignorance, removal of.... 171 
Imagination 153 



Imperfections 100, 114 

Incentive of contemplation 323 

Indulgences 187 

Industry, habit of 135 

Influence, divine, in self- 
denial 188 

Influence, divine, in virtue 205 
Influence, union with God 210 

Infused contemplation 330 

Infused virtues 276 

Intention, good 32, 85 

Intercession of angels and 

saints 41, 173 

Intercourse with the world 143 

Interior life 17, 223 

Internal senses, subjuga- 
tion of 151 

Instinct, Catholic 210 

Interior life, foundation.. 16 
Irrational creatures, God 
governs 252 

Jesus Christ, loyalty to. 60 
Jesus Christ, our brother. 175 

Joy 158 

Just, God governs the.... 259 
Justice, virtue of 200 

Know God, opportunity 
given to 205 

Know vocation, opportun- 
ity given to 206 

Knowledge of God's claims 17 

Knowledge of human na- 
ture 22 

Knowledge of man's ene- 
mies 39 

Knowledge of man's ex- 
istence 48 

Land, meek shall possess. 214 

Laws of life 33 

Life 24 

Life, community 145 

Life, dispositions for in- 
terior 53 

Life, excellence of reli- 
gious 145 

Life, home 138 

Life, laws of 33 

Life, religious 223 

Life, the supernatural.... 152 

Life, the interior 17 

Life, the spiritual 13 



338 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX 



Losses, temporal 306 

Love 156, 209 

Love of Mary, motive for 

confidence 56 

Love of God, opportunity- 
given to 205 

Love, God worthy of 20 

Love of benevolence 329 

Love of desire 329 

Loyalty to Jesus Christ.. 60 
Loyalty to the Catholic 

Church 61 

Lust 116 

Man's enemies, knowl- 
edge of. 39 

Man s existence, knowl- 
edge of 48 

Man can know God 205 

Man can know vocation.. 206 

Man's limitations 108 

Man should be grateful.. 18 

Man should fear God 19 

Man should love God 20 

Man should reverence God 17 
Man, subjugating carnal.. 131 
Mary's love, motive for 

confidence 39 

Mary's protection, motive 

for confidence 40 

Mass, the sacrifice of 119 

Means of grace, use of.. 178 
Means of grace, counsels 

on 121 

Means of union with God 210 

Meditation 117 

Meek, blessed are the 214 

Memory, purifying the... 153 

Mental prayer 182 

Merciful shall obtain mercy 217 
Merits of Christ, motive 

of confidence 39 

Microcosm, the 22 

Mind, conformity in 210 

Mind of God, the 242 

Mind, restoration of 175 

Mind, subjugation of.... 110 
Ministry of the Church. 270 
Mission of Church, mo- 
tive for confidence.... 56 

Mixed prayer 184 

Moderating rashness 177 

Modest dress 133 

Moral growth 36 

Morality of human acts.. 30 



Mortification 127 

Motive for practising vir- 
tue 191 

Motive for self-denial 89 

Motive for union with God 209 

Nature, knowledge of hu- 
man 22 

Nature of God 240 

Nature of sensible devo- 
tion 292 

Nature, sensitive 193 

Nature, purification of... 299 

Obedience to spiritual di- 
rector 63 

Object of practising vir- 
tue 190 

Object of self-denial 89 

Object of union with God 208 

Obstinacy 178 

Occasion of doing good. 82 
Occasion of sensible de- 
votion 292 

Occasion of sin 81 

Occasion proximate, of sin 44 
Opportunity to conform to 

God 325 

Opportunity to know God 318 
Opportunity to know vo- 
cation 318 

Opportunity to practise vir- 
tue 320 

Order in practising virtue 192 
Order in self-denial 90 

Parental^ influence 266 

Participation in the sins 

of others 74 

Passion, the predominant. 28 
Passions,^ subjugation of.. 155 

Passive illumination 205 

Passive purification 188 

Passive union 325 

Patient endurance 79, 136 

Patriotism 145 

Peculiarities of the Cross 107 

Penance 110 

Perfection, determination 

to attain 63 

Perfection, easy in reli- 
gion 232 

Perfection, striving after. 77 
Permanent assistance from 
God 263 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX 



339 



Pious practices 187 

Perseverance, grace of... 184 

Plain dwelling 132 

fare 134 

Power of prayer, motive 

for confidence 40 

Pleasures, detachment from 166 
Practice of virtue, coun- 
sels on 125 

Practice of virtue, the... 190 

Prayer 180 

Prayer, in religious life.. 230 

Prayer, power of 40 

Prayer, spirit of 72 

Prayer, mental 117 

Prayer, mixed 118 

Prayer, vocal 181 

Predominant fault 99 

Predominant passion 28 

Prejudice, removal of.... 172 
Preparation for devotion. 189 

Pride 115 

Pride, subjection of 47 

Priest 130 

Principles, delusions of 

wrong 101 

Principles, dismissal of 

false 174 

Progress in 'virtue, signs 

of 78, 193 

Promises of God, motive 

for confidence 56 

Promptitude 77 

Properties of actual grace 186 
Properties of sanctifying 

grace 272 

Protection of Mary, motive 

for confidence 40 

Providence, divine 157, 165 

Providence, special dis- 
pensations of 318 

Proximate occasion of sin 44 

Prudence 199 

Purgation, active 88 

Purgation, passive 291 

Purifying mind and will. 309 
Purification of senses, 152, 299 
Purifying the memory. . . 153 

Purity of heart 89 

Purpose of amendment... 124 

Qualities of confession. 63 
Qualities "of prayer 180 

Rashness, moderating 177 

" I 



Rebellion of senses 304 

Recreation 139 

Reflection, preparation for 

devotion 293 

spirit of 67 

Relatives, detachment from 166 

Religion 201 

Rieligious life 223 

Remedying curiosity 177 

Remorse of conscience... 47 

Removal of error 172 

Removal of ignorance.... 171 

Removal of prejudice 173 

Resolution 74 

Resolution, Christian 295 

Respect for authority 62 

Responsibility of human 

acts 29 

Restoration of the mind.. 175 
Restraining the instinct. . 98 

Retirement, spirit of 132 

Reverance for God 17 

Reward, desire of 321 

Riches, detachment from. 164 
Rosary, devotion of the.. 118 
Rule, religious 226 

Sacramental confession.. 120 

Sacramentals, the 186 

Sacraments, the 185, 275 

Sadness 83, 158 

Sacrifice of the Mass 186 

Sanctifying grace 272 

Satan, contempt for 71 

Satan, temptations of. 307, 315 

Satisfaction 125 

Self-castigation 110 

Self-denial 88, 230 

Self-denial, divine influ- 
ence in 291 

Self-esteem, detachment 

from 168 

Self-examination 92 

Self-love, delusions of... 102 
Self-love, detachment from 169 
Self-will, detachment. 105, 170 

Senses, external 146 

Senses, internal 151 

Sensible devotion 292 

Sensitive appetite 99 

Senses, purification of 299 

Sensuality 105 

Signs of progress in virtue 193 

Signs of purification 302 

I Signs of self-denial 91 



340 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX 



Signs of union with God. 210 

Simplicity 134 

Sin, mortal 110 

Sin, venial Ill 

Sin, detestation of 66, 122 

Sin, sorrow for 123 

Sin, satisfaction for 125 

Sin, occasion of 44, 81 

Sin, nature corrupted by. 38 

Sincere reflection 293 

Sincerity ^ 72 

Sinful actions 97 

Sinful habits 98 

Sinner, God's treatment of 254 
Singularity, avoidance of. 137 

Sins of the world 113 

Sloth 119 

Spirit, Catholic 142 

Spirit of prayer.... 72 

Spirit of compunction... 68 

Spirit of reflection 67 

Spirit of retirement 132 

Spiritual guide 130 

Spiritual growth 190 

Spiritual blindness....... 173 

Striving after perfection . . 77 
Subjugation of flesh, 69,131,146 
Subjugation of the spirit. 70 
Subjugation of the will.. 164 
Subjugation of the creature 178 
Subjugation of the mind. 171 
Submission to God's rep- 
resentatives 60 

Supernatural life 228, 237 

Supernatural order, the.. 239 
Sweetness, spiritual 292 

Taste, mortifying the 149 

Temporal losses 306 

Temperament 25 

Temperance 202 

Temptation 43 

Temptation, decision in.. 80 
Temptation, from nature. 313 
Temptation from Satan. . 307 

Tepidity 112 

Theological virtues, the . . 194 



Time, good use of 48, 84 

Trial, extraordinary 203 

Trials from the world... 314 

Tongue, custody of 150 

Touch, mortifying the... 150 
Truth, inborn desire of. . 265 

Union, active 206 

Union, heroic 212 

Union, opportunity for... 325 

Union, passive 325 

Union with God 206, 234 

Use of means of grace... 178 

Use of time 84 

Universal laws of life... 33 

Venial sin 73 

Vice 46 

Virtue 34 

Virtue, the practice of... 190 
Virtue, the excellence of. 322 
Virtue, opportunity to 

practise 320 

Virtue in religion 148 

Virtues, cardinal 198 

Virtues, infused 276 

Virtues of God 244 

Virtues, theological 194 

Vocal prayer 181 

Vocation 268 

Vocation, opportunity for 318 

Will, bad 45 

Will, good 31 

Will of God, the . 242 

Will of God, conformity to 325 

Will, subjugation of the.. 164 

World, the 40, 249 

World, contempt for 70 

World, intercourse with.. 143 

World, trials from 202 

Zeal for glory of God. 138, 212 

Zeal for neighbor 140 

Zeal for spiritual progress 139 



PRINTED BY BENZIGER BROTHERS, NEW YORK. 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Feb. 2006 



PreservationTechnologies 



A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township. PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 





017 352 458 4 



1 
4 



I , ihi 



tP * 






' •JN;.'^;^v^- 
|^/■':.^^;:^^ 






